Kingdom Hearts another side
by Malvidrix-No15
Summary: Sora, Riku, Kairi, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus' respective stories continue... But in another place, in another time, the story of three aspiring Keyblade masters is just beginning. Takes place nine years before Kingdom Hearts.
1. Report 1: The Dawn Cometh

SDS here, devoted readers. Tackling the always awesome Kingdom Hearts series this time. This is a story concept I've been working on since finishing Birth by Sleep (which you simply MUST play if you haven't already), so there might be some similarities in story flow.

Also, this might effectively become the longest fic I've submitted to the site thus far, as I have over 10 chapters planned. WHOO! Going the distance!

Enjoy.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts is a trademark of Square-Enix and Disney. Any similarities between this and other works submitted is purely coincidental.

* * *

_Another side, another story… The tale untold, and the place where shadows cannot reach…_

**_Kingdom Hearts ~another side~_**

**~ Report 1: The Dawn Cometh ~**

The sun hangs in the sky over Aubade Town. A utopia of white that serves as home to just over a hundred people. A place that shines brightly and brilliantly even at night. A gem among worlds.

Four floating landmasses, with the largest in the center. Connecting the four was a circular track of iron on which a pair of automated monorails ran.

The central landmass housed both the Morning Plaza and Hub Park. The decorative fountain in the middle of the plaza could brighten any individual's mood, and the park observed visitation by the children of Aubade during all hours of the day.

The northern landmass was covered with rows and rows of housings to accommodate the world's populace. 'Hello's' and 'good day's' of passersby were the everyday norm.

To the east of Morning Plaza was the marketplace. Like Hub Park, this region of Aubade Town would see traffic on a day-to-day basis, most prominently by citizens looking to take advantage of daily bargains and giveaways.

Lastly, to the west lie Twinkle Ridge, home to the observatory and Twinkle Hill. To couples and stargazers alike, the view of the night sky was one of the city's marvels.

The city had little going for it in the way of technology, but the people lived simple, comfortable lives amongst their fellow man, and the commodities that the world provided were sufficient. Even the screech and rumble of the monorail was considered by many to be perfectly bearable.

On this afternoon in particular, one young resident makes the most of the serenity Aubade Town so often enjoys. A boy, 15 years old, with prickly teal hair, dressed in the yellow short-sleeved hoodie, blue jeans, and white black-trim sneakers he's known for wearing around town. With his hands cushioning his head, the boy lies on the lush grass of Twinkle Hill as a cool midday breeze blows over him. With his eyes closed, the boy takes in and lets out slow breaths of air through his nostrils.

In its mischievousness, the wind picks up a few blades of grass and carries them in the direction of the boy's nose. The blades tickle his nose hairs…

"ACHOO!"

…triggering a hearty sneeze that stirs him from his afternoon nap. As he rubs the fuzz away from his face, he glances fleetingly at his environment, taking notice of the sun's position in the sky. With a yawn, he leans back to resume his nap…

…if not for the girl standing over him.

"Whoa!" Startled by her presence, the teal-haired boy shoots forward, now wide awake. He turns his upper body around slightly to face her and hear her laugh. "Come on…", he starts. "Give me a break, Marin…"

Marin. One of Ciel's closest friends in Aubade Town. 18 years of age, wearing a pure white tank top over a sleeveless powder blue shirt with thin horizontal navy stripes, cerulean hip-huggers, colorful sandals, and wearing her long dark-red hair in a ponytail. She looks upon her friend with her arms crossed. "'Top of the morning' to you too, sleepyhead. How'd I know I'd find you here, Ciel?"

"Do I have a tracking device on me somewhere?", the boy named Ciel jokes.

"Funny."

Just then, a third voice - prepubescent in nature - calls out from the bottom of the hill. "Hey, Ciel! Down here!"

The two turn their heads to face the voice's source: a younger boy of 13, and the second of Ciel's best friends. He bore golden-brown hair even spikier than Ciel's, and favored a look consisting of red zippered turtleneck, blue ankle-length jeans, and black sneakers with yellow trim. As the kid waves in his general direction, Ciel waves back. "Heh. Hey, Roche. Good to see ya." Rising to his feet, he looks back at Marin. "You brought the half-pint with you?"

"You know how Roche is.", replies Marin with a shrug. "Where 'Big Sis' goes, he goes."

"Right, right. So…" Ciel pockets his hands and continues. "…To what do I owe this pleasant interruption of naptime?"

"Why _else_ do I associate with you?", the young woman teases. Marin holds her right hand out to the side and fully outstretches her fingers. A swirl of air and moisture encircles her arm, and in a narrow flash of electric blue light…

…a Keyblade appears in her hand.

The weapon had a primarily blue color scheme. The shaft was a smooth sapphire, and crystals of ice formed the teeth at the tip. The keychain swung freely by Marin's wrist, with a tiny teardrop prism at the chain's end. Marin's Keyblade-of-choice: the **_Deepest Blue_**.

Bringing it up over her head, Marin props the weapon on her shoulder. "…We've got work to do."

Ciel knew full well the meaning of the word 'work'. "Hmph. Lead the way.", he says simply, following Marin and Roche to the monorail.

…Cut to the far end of Hub Park. With her Keyblade still drawn, Marin explains to Ciel, "A few kids around town said they saw something glowing over by the trees. Like eyes."

"Glowing, huh…?" Ciel takes a few steps toward the trees and peers into the thick shade cast by the branches. For several moments, all Ciel could see was black, and all he could hear was the rustle of the leaves. "…"

A pair of golden orbs glares back through the darkness.

"!"

A small, black mass speeds across the air at Ciel. With just a handful of seconds allowed him, Ciel leans away to evade the figure's attack. As it lands in the grass to the trio's rear with a plop, the figure hops up and assumes it standard shape: a diminutive creature with an all-black body, bright yellow eyes, clawed hands, large feet, and twisted antennae. It had a most peculiar manner of walk.

There was no mistaking it. "Heartless!", Ciel barks, curling his fingers into fists. At the sight of the Shadow, Ciel draws his own weapon: a Keyblade with a silver and pale green color scheme and an appearance not unlike the Oathkeeper. Thin wing-shaped guards curled around the black handle, and three additional smaller wings formed the blade's teeth. At the end of the keychain hung a little green helix. This was Ciel's Keyblade, **_Pierce the Skies_**.

In the presence of the Keyblade, the lone Shadow hobbles toward Ciel and lunges at him with its claws.

With some well placed footing, Ciel easily defends himself against the weak attack, and swings the blade back in retaliation.

The Shadow ducks underneath the blade's arc and sinks into the ground like an actual shadow, as was its primary defense mechanism. Along the grassy earth, it makes its way back into the shade of the trees.

"Oh, no, you don't!", snaps Ciel, leaping forward at the flattened Heartless. During his descent, he thrusts the Keyblade down into the Shadow's silhouette.

The Shadow lets out a pained shriek, and it vanishes in a puff of black mist.

Ciel pumps his arm in victory. "Hah! That's how it's done!"

"Uh… Ciel?", Roche speaks up, pointing his arm to the trees.

Ciel's triumph is proven premature, as a multitude of yellow eyes could be seen emanating from within the shade. A moderately sized group of Shadows, as well as a small handful of Soldiers, emerges from the darkness to face the two Keyblade wielders.

The teal-haired kid exhales a sigh. "That figures…"

"No worries.", assures Marin, stepping up with her Deepest Blue Keyblade. "I got your back."

"Me too!", Roche exclaims, drawing his own Keyblade as well. This weapon was the broadest of the three, bearing similarities to the Olympia and Total Eclipse, yet was light enough for little Roche to brandish with a single hand. Compared to Marin's Deepest Blue and Ciel's Pierce the Skies, Roche's **_Superquake_** Keyblade had the shortest reach but carried the greatest amount of physical might.

This came as no surprise to Ciel. He relied heavily on the strength and support of his two friends. "Hmph. Well, alright then.", he says simply with a grin.

Gazing hungrily at the Key-bearing trio, the crowd of Shadows and Soldiers leaps forth.

Ciel, Roche, and Marin meet the Heartless legion in the middle, and a small-scale battle erupts.

…A battle that lasts all of 2 minutes. One by one, the Heartless fall, their hearts releasing into the atmosphere and drifting away. Marin had the pleasure of destroying the last Shadow standing. She sighs a breath of relief, and her Keyblade disappears in the same flash of light it appeared in. "Mission accomplished. Good work, you two."

Roche brings his hands behind his head and smiles widely. "All in a day's work for us Keyblade masters. Hehehe."

"You guys finally done over here?", a fourth voice calls out from behind.

The trio turns around to see another trio approaching - two girls and one boy. The boy, 16 and blond, wore a black T-shirt, white baseball jersey, black cap, grayish-brown sweatpants (in spite of the heat), and gray boots. He walked in the middle, no more than a foot ahead of his female companions. The first girl, same age as the boy, was dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt, a red plaid skirt, and plain brown shoes. She wore her light-pink chest-length hair in a ponytail that draped over her left shoulder. She stood to the boy's right. The other girl, 14, was quite possibly the most fashion-conscious of the three, sporting a light amber jacket over a sky blue striped vest top, a frilly cobalt skirt, and white sandals. Her hair, a denser shade of pink than that of the other girl's, was tied back into a short ponytail with a turquoise bow. She stood to the boy's immediate left.

Ciel seemed especially excited by their arrival. "Hey, Claire, Snow, Serah."

"Hi.", Claire greets in return.

"Heya!", Serah adds.

Marin greets the three with a short wave. "Hey, you three. Caught us just in time."

"Awesome.", says Snow with one hand in his pocket and the other palming a baseball. "If you got nothing else to do, me and some of the guys on our block are getting together to play a game. You in?"

"Sure, I'll play.", Roche replies.

Suddenly taking Snow by the arm, Serah perkily cries, "I'm on Snow's team!"

Claire rolls her eyes at this display of affection. "There's a shocker…"

Ciel, however, wasn't as eager. "Thanks, but I'll pass. Never been much of a sports guy."

"Same here.", Marin adds, echoing Ciel's refusal. "But you guys have fun."

"In that case…", begins Claire, taking a few steps forward. "…How about a sparring match?" Reaching behind her, she pulls out a collapsible wooden sword. "Who knows? Maybe this'll be the day you finally beat me. …I doubt it though."

Ciel bares a confident grin and pulls out a wooden sword of simpler design. "You're on!"

Marin leans against a nearby tree and folds her arms. "Oh, I want a front row seat to this."

As Roche departs with Snow and Serah to play baseball, Ciel and Claire assume fighting stances with several yards between them. An afternoon breeze cuts through the calm silence, and Ciel doesn't look away from Claire for even a moment. "…" He notices a slight shift in her footing… "!"…and prepares to guard.

Claire pushes off the ground and rockets forward with sword in hand. Once within range, she motions a quick series of thrusts at certain points of Ciel's upper body. The attack pattern was familiar to Ciel, as he finds himself guarding or dodging all of Claire's thrusts. Once an opening makes itself known, he shifts downward and swings at her feet. The pink-haired teen leaps over Ciel's lower swipe and brings her weapon down upon him from above. Ciel pulls his sword up to absorb the strike, and slips around to Claire's backside. As he attacks with a thrust of his own, Claire brings the sword to her back to defend, and then sweeps at Ciel's leg to break his stance. Ciel stumbles for a moment, but regains his footing in time to avoid Claire's follow-up attack. A couple of yards briefly separate the two, but Ciel leaps ahead to meet Claire in close quarters. A furious clash of wooden swords ensues, with Ciel seeming to gain the upper hand. He matches Claire blow for blow and pushes her back little by little. Claire found herself amazed by how much Ciel's swordsmanship had improved. He swings vertically downward, and Claire defends with a horizontal sword position. It was now a matter of which side would give out first. "Tch!" With a rotation of her blade, Claire catches Ciel's arm in her grip, pulls the weight of his body toward her, and flips him over her and onto his back.

"Agh!" Ciel lets out a pained groan as his body comes into contact with the ground. Before he could pick himself up…

…Claire was already on top of him, the tip of her sword just inches from his face. "…Looks like I win again.", she boasts with a toothy smirk.

"…" Defeated, the boy with green locks closes his eyes and chuckles. "Man. Thought I had you that time. Guess I need more practice."

"Don't sell yourself short. You've gotten a lot better." After folding up her sword and putting it away, Claire extends a hand to help Ciel up off the ground, to which he accepts. "Of course it might just have to do with today."

"Hmm? Why? What's special about today?"

"You forgot?", Claire whines, feigning disappointment. "That's mean, Ciel."

"U-Um…" Retreating to his mind, Ciel scrambles to remember what made this particular date special. Something to do with Claire. "Hmm…"

Off to the side, Marin holds in her laughter. "Wait for it…"

"…Ah, that's right! It's your birthday!"

"There you go."

The forgetful Ciel slaps himself both mentally and physically, hitting his forehead with his palm. "Aw, man… I'm sorry, Claire. I dunno how I could've forgotten."

"It's fine. At least you remembered before I made you pay for it."

"Hehehe…hah…"

"C'mon. Let's go catch up with Serah and the others."

"Right behind ya." Ciel bends down to pick up his toy sword and watches Claire walk away.

"Hey…", Marin calls out as she walks up. "…How come you don't fight her with the Keyblade? You know you'd win. Easily."

Ciel runs his fingers along the length of the blade. "It wouldn't be a fair fight that way. I wanna beat Claire with my own strength and skill."

"Well, aren't we the overachiever? …Soooooooo…you ask her out yet?"

"!" Not surprisingly, such a question causes Ciel to drop his sword. "W-WHAT?"

"Hmm? I didn't say anything."

"That's not funny, Marin!"

"What's not funny?"

"I mean it! Cut it out!"

"Cut _what_ out? You're the one who started yelling for no reason."

"Argh!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Ciel faces away to hide his blush. "…Seriously, Marin, sometimes you remind me of Relena."

"!"

"…Marin?"

"…"

Marin's uncharacteristic silence was disconcerting. "Marin, what's wrong?"

"…It's nothing. Come on, the others are waiting for us." Saying nothing else, Marin walks away.

"W-Wait!" Did I say something I shouldn't have?, Ciel thought. Why did Marin suddenly clam up when he mentioned Relena? Did something happen between them before her disappearance? Ciel thought on her with only the fondest of memories, and he was sure everyone else did the same. So why? "Marin…"

…That evening, even as the sun makes its descent, the streetlights that line the suburb area help the city retain some of its morning colors. A quietness blankets over as the civilians retire to their homes. The sound of chirping crickets permeates the quiet, adding to the sense of tranquility.

The whipping sound effect of a toy sword twirling in midair could be heard in Ciel's bedroom if one listened well enough. Lying on his cloud-and-sky-themed bedspread, the young Keyblade wielder passes the time by tossing his wooden sword up and catching it by the handle. He thinks on the additional practice he'll need to do in order to beat Claire. With little else to preoccupy his time, he gazes out the window to his left… "…Hmm?"

…and notices something wriggle its way out of the shadows, into the light of a streetlamp, and back into the darkness just moments later.

Just like that, Ciel had found a means to kill time. "Ahhh… The one that got away, huh…? Heh! Not for long!"

The lone Shadow hobbles down a dead-end alley and stops short of the wall.

Before long, it's joined by Ciel, who appears at the alley entrance with Keyblade in hand. "Okay, you little freak. No need to be a rebel. You'll save us both the trouble if you just stay still."

Paying Ciel's words no mind, the Shadow sinks into the ground, Ciel's first thought being it was attempting to flee. But within mere seconds of doing so, it pops back up assuming a new form - one slightly larger than its first. It had a fairly muscular build, its arms, legs, and antennae were longer in length, and certain parts of its body were lined with faint blue veins. It was Ciel's first encounter with a Neoshadow.

The Keyblade-toting lad was surprised by the Shadow's transformation. "Whoa… Never seen a Heartless do that before… Nonetheless…!" Still determined to end the Heartless life (or lack thereof), he dashes forward and swings the Keyblade down.

With a nimble leap, the Neoshadow evades the attack, springs off of Ciel's head, knocking him over, and sprints out of the alley and down the street.

"H-Hey!" Ciel jumps to his feet and gives chase. "Get back here!"

He follows the humanoid Heartless up and down a number of neighborhoods. All the while, the Neoshadow demonstrates both its speed and dexterity, leaping across rooftops and running along the side of buildings, quick enough to remain out of Ciel's range yet dragging its feet just enough to stay in his sights.

Taking aim with his Keyblade, Ciel fires a barrage of pressurized air bullets at the black creature, each shot barely missing its mark. "Tch! Hold still!"

The chase eventually leads the two to the top of Twinkle Hill, where Ciel corners the Neoshadow at the cliff edge.

Ciel, short of breath, points his weapon at the slippery Heartless. "I've got you now…! Nowhere to run…!"

"_…That'll do, sweetie… I'll take it from here…_"

"Huh? Who's…?" As Ciel glances around for the source of an unfamiliar voice, the Neoshadow sinks into the ground once more and slips by underneath his feet. "Hey!" He spins around to his rear… "!"…and sees a figure lurking in the shade nearby. "Who's there? Come out and show me your face!"

The Neoshadow pops back up above ground, where the figure could be seen scratching its chin like one would a kitten. "_Such a good boy… You followed Mama's directions perfectly…_"

Ciel grasps the Keyblade with both hands. "I said, come out!"

"_…It's not nice to yell at people, Ciel…_"

"…H-How do you know my name…?"

The figure steps forward into the light to reveal its face to Ciel: it was a woman who appeared no older than 21. She had golden shoulder-length hair and bright green eyes, and was dressed in a black skin-tight outfit lined with pink fur that showed off her hourglass figure and left much of her skin bare. Completing the bizarre ensemble was a black choker and white cape that reached down to her waist. With a smile, the blonde casually greets, "Hey there, shorty. Ya been good?"

Ciel thought it strange that an older woman he didn't recognize was addressing him in such an informal manner. "Um… Have we met, miss?"

The blonde woman pouts. "Awww… You forgot me already, Ciel? How cruel. It's only been, what? Three years, give or take?"

"!" The beaming smile of an old friend laps at the shores of Ciel's memory. A name shudders on his lips. "…Relena!"

"Bingo! That wasn't too hard, was it?"

The Pierce the Skies slips out of Ciel's grasp and drops onto the grass at his feet. "Y-You… You came back…", he stammers through his budding tears. "Where'd you go? You just disappeared! We… We were all so worried about you!"

"Awww, really? That's so sweet. You're a good bunch of kids, y'know? Almost makes me sad I left. …The operative word being 'almost', of course."

"Huh…?"

"I honestly didn't think I'd be coming back here any time soon. I'll let you in on a little secret, Ciel… I've always…"

The beaming smile that young Ciel remembered was now that of pure malice.

"…_hated this world_…!"

"!"

Relena's body emits a menacing black aura, and numerous Neoshadows appear to her side.

"More of them!"

"Do what you like…", instructs Relena in a sinister tone. "…but don't kill him. I want him alive so he can watch this place crumble."

At their master's command, the Heartless swarm Ciel from all corners.

Ciel keeps the Neoshadow legion at bay with the Keyblade, but they amass at a quicker rate than he can destroy them. In the corner of his eye, he watches as Relena takes her leave. "R-Relena! Come back! What are you…?"

Saying nothing, the blond in black vanishes through a portal of darkness.

"RELENA!"

It wouldn't be long before more of Relena's pets appear around the city and begin terrorizing the populace, seizing their hearts as their own. Panicked screams echo across Aubade Town as its siege gets into full swing.

"Come on, this way!"

Claire, Snow, and Serah dash their way through the suburb area in flee of the invading Heartless. Leading the group, Claire looks on in horror as her home slowly collapses.

"What's going on, Snow?", Serah cries in fear. "Why is this happening?"

"I have no idea! There's never been this many Heartless before!"

"Don't panic, you two! We'll be fine as soon as we get to the bunker!"

The trio continues its mad dash down the street toward the underground shelter, and it seemed as though safety was just around the corner…

…except around that very corner was a group of Heartless lying in wait.

"Aah! They're everywhere!"

The Shadows shuffle toward Claire, Snow, and Serah, ready to claw their hearts out.

The three found themselves backed into a corner. It was perhaps the first time Claire felt genuine fear and hopelessness. "…"

"**_Geo Impact!_**"

Just then, as if by a godsend, Roche descends upon the Heartless from above, slamming the Superquake into the ground and laying waste to the Shadow horde with a burst of earthly power.

"R-Roche!"

"Get out of here!", the youngest Key bearer dictates, as this wasn't the time for pleasantries. "I'll hold 'em off!" With that, the boy dives headlong into the fray.

Claire narrows her brows at this spectacle, cursing her own powerlessness against the Heartless. "…Worst birthday ever."

In Hub Park, among the throngs of Shadows, the Pierce the Skies twirls through the air, taking out any Heartless it comes into contact with, and shortly returns to Ciel's hand. Utterly winded from the battle, he nearly keels over trying to catch his breath. "Hah… Hah… There's…so many of them…! I can't…keep this up…!"

The Shadows, Neoshadows, and Soldiers advance upon Ciel in his moment of weakness. Just as they're poised to strike…

"**_Glacier!_**"

…an unseen force encases every Heartless in the vicinity in ice. With a snap of one's fingers, the 'Shadowsicles' shatter. Through the blackened snowfall, Marin approaches. "You okay, Ciel?"

"I'm fine…! I just…need a few minutes…!"

"What's happening? Where'd all these Heartless come from?"

"It's… It's Relena!"

"!" Just like what happened that afternoon, the sound of Relena's name makes Marin go silent. "…Where is she…?"

"I-I think she was headed toward the plaza!"

Morning Plaza. That was all she needed to hear. The Keyblade-wielding redhead leaves Ciel and makes for the plaza across from the park.

"W-Wait a minute! Marin!"

Any and all external noise goes unnoticed. Marin mows down the Heartless in her way and heads for the black mass emanating from beyond the fountain. 'Why…? Why now of all times?'

Relena watches in twisted delight as her pets work their destructive magic. "Hahahahaha! That's it! Tear it down! Tear it all down! Ahhhhh… Such a wonderful sound darkness makes…"

"_Relena!_"

"…Ah. And the second member of our all-star cast takes the stage." Relena turns to meet Marin face-to-face. "Hey, 'Red'. Long time no barf."

"…"

"…Nothing? Not even a grin? Six years ago, that would've had you busting a gut."

"Six years ago, we barely knew each other. And I didn't know how sick in the head you were."

"'Sick in the head'? That's a little harsh, don't you think?"

"What are you doing here, Relena? When we said our goodbyes back then, it was for good. Why have you come back here?"

"What, you didn't miss me at all? Not even a little bit?"

"Answer the question!"

"…Let's just say I've come to realize something these past few years living on my own - an epiphany, if you will. This world and the people in it… They're soft. Weak -minded. Spineless. The light's spoiled them rotten, making them fearful of even the tiniest speck of darkness. They cling to the light like a newborn clings to its mother. They worship it. …And then there's yours truly. Heaven forbid I have in me a bit of a naughty streak."

"Naughty streak? Is that how you rationalize it? As I recall, you had a taste for burning ants with a magnifying glass and breaking windows. And then what do you go and do? You burn a house down! That's not 'naughty'; that's psychopathic!"

"Meh. What can I say? I was young and rebellious. …Ohhhh, you should've heard them, Marin. What the adults were saying about me. Calling me a 'demon child' and a 'lost cause'. They were so sure that I was a victim of the darkness. So sure, in fact, that they had the _nerve_ to tell me to leave before 'my darkness infected the other children'! Come to think of it, that was right around the time you and the munchkins were chosen by the Keyblade. And then the Heartless came! And they go and blame me for _that_ too? The people living in this city - they're the _real_ Heartless!"

"…So this is about revenge then…?"

"Oh, this is about more than just revenge, 'Red'. I told you, this world's been spoiled by the light. It has yet to know true darkness…and I'm just the girl to give it a crash course!"

Marin had heard enough. She draws the Deepest Blue. "You're not just sick in the head. You're completely insane. I'm not letting you turn my home into your personal playground!" She raises the blade and charges onto the offensive.

"Oh, please…" As Relena brings her hand up, a yellow dagger generates between her fingers. With a flick of her wrist, she tosses the dagger at Marin.

The dagger punctures Marin's shoulder and sends a jolt through her body. "Agh!"

With lightning fast movement, Relena does this 11 times more, making each jolt doubly strong as the one preceding it.

Having been stricken completely numb, Marin falls to one knee, unable to even keep a firm grip on the Keyblade. "Nngh…! W-Why you…!"

"Go ahead and take a knee there, 'Red'. You'll end up hurting yourself." With a virtually secure victory, Marin steps forward, her heels clacking on the cobblestones, and stands to Marin's side.

With the wind blowing as fiercely as it was, Marin catches a glimpse of an emblem decorating Relena's bare back. A black and red heart-shaped pattern. The same emblem certain Heartless bear. Marin's eyes go wide with shock at the sight of the pattern. "Relena, you're…! It… It can't be…! You're a…?"

"Hehehehe. Looks good on me, doesn't it? Now then…watch as I reduce this city to dust…"

"No… You can't…"

"The fireworks are gonna be spectacular… Hehehe… HAHAHAHAHA!"

"No…! Please, Relena, don't…!"

The Keyblade at Marin's feet reacts to her desperation, and begins to shimmer with white light.

"I…_said_…**_STOOOOOOP!_**"

As if responding to a wish made in Marin's heart, a glint of light briefly shines over Relena and strikes down upon her in the form of a pillar. The light neutralizes Relena's darkness, causing her a great deal of pain. "_GRAAAAAHHHHH!_"

The pillar of light extends as high up as the sky, for all in Aubade Town to see.

In the suburb area, it catches Roche's eye. "Wow…"

It attracts the attention of many of Relena's Heartless pets.

Perhaps the closest to be awestruck by the pillar (besides Marin) was Ciel, having been just a few kilometers away in Hub Park. "…"

As the radiance dies away, Relena stumbles forward, clenching her chest in piercing agony. "W-What…was that?"

"It was the light, Relena."

Glancing behind her, the anguished blonde sees Marin standing upright. "H-How are you…?"

"The light answered when I called out to it. It saw the darkness in you, and decided that you're not welcome here. And quite frankly, I agree with it." Marin raises the Deepest Blue confidently. "Now…care to try your knife trick on me again?"

"…" Relena wasn't impressed however. Her mastery over darkness trumped Marin's mastery of the light by far. Still… "…Not bad, 'Red'… Kind of a cheap shot, but I still gotta give you that one…" Another portal to darkness opens to Relena's rear, indicating her withdrawal. "I may be able to squeeze a little fun out of you after all…", she concludes with a laugh, stepping backward through the portal.

"Wait! Come back!" Marin attempts to follow through the portal, but it closes before she could do so. "…Tch!"

Shortly after Relena's departure, Ciel makes his entrance. "Marin! You okay? What happened to Relena?"

"…She's gone."

"Y-You mean you…?"

"No. She got away."

"Oh…"

"…I'm going after her. I'll take the _Nautilus_."

"What? You're leaving too?"

"Relena's become a Heartless, Ciel. With the darkness at her beck and call, she can lay waste to any world she wants. If given the chance, she could even come back here and finish the job she started. I'm not giving her that chance."

"But she was our friend! Shouldn't we try to save her?"

"Didn't you hear me? She's a Heartless now! She's beyond saving! …I'm sorry, Ciel. I'm taking her out before she can cause any more damage."

"Then… Then I'm coming with you!"

"No. You're staying here to look after the others."

"I'm not letting you go alone, Marin!"

"This isn't open for discussion!"

"Why is Relena _your_ responsibility? She was my friend too! All of ours! Stop trying to make this about you!"

"IT ISN'T ABOUT ME!"

"…" Ciel lowers his head in grief. Nothing he said seemed to get through. "But Marin…" …Just then, a pair of arms pulls him in close. He looks up and finds himself in Marin's warm embrace.

"I know how you feel, Ciel. I loved Relena like a sister. When she left, it hurt me just as much as it hurt you. But things are different now. She's a Heartless. She hurt the ones we love and almost destroyed our home. I can't let her get away with that. So while I'm gone, I want you to watch over Roche and Claire and Snow and Serah. They need you, Ciel. You've gotta be strong. For me, and for them. Especially Roche - you know he can be a total crybaby when I'm not around. You're just as much my brother as he is, Ciel. I've already lost one friend; I can't lose another."

"…Marin…"

The redhead bends over and kisses Ciel on the forehead. "…Take care of each other. I'll be back soon."

Having nothing else to say, the boy looks on as Marin walks away, and a few short minutes later, sees a Gummi Ship take off into the sky. "Ma…rin…", Ciel mutters weakly, battle fatigue finally catching up with him. Unable to even see clearly, he drops his Keyblade and falls over, slipping gradually into unconsciousness.

Elsewhere, in a clearing on the far side of the suburb area, Relena's remaining forces congregate upon the last Key bearer standing. Roche had his back against the wall, and the sheer number of Heartless was far too great for him to handle. "Get away…!", whimpers the miniscule Keyblade wielder. "Leave me alone…!"

Even in Roche's pitiable condition, the Soldiers maintain their relentless advance.

The dirty-blond child cowers to the floor, exhausted and frightened. "Please…! I can't do this by myself…! Ciel…! Sis…! Someone…!"

Along the wall that Roche's back was pressed against, a portal of light suddenly appears…

"W-Whoa!"

…causing Roche to fall through to whatever was on the other side.

The Heartless army was reasonably puzzled by this sight. With two Keyblade masters gone, one out of commission, and their blonde mistress having withdrawn, the Shadows and Soldiers leave.

For whatever reason, Aubade Town was spared from the maw of darkness.

"…Marin!"

Emerging from his sleep with a forceful jerk, Ciel awakens to the sight of his room and comfort of his bed. He looks out the window; to his great relief, Aubade Town was still here. Disoriented from the previous night's events, Ciel slowly gets out of bed and steps outside.

He brings his hand up to shield his eyes, the brightness of the sun taking him by surprise. There was certainly no mistaking the sunlight of Aubade. There, just past his front gate, he encounters Claire, Snow, and Serah. "Hey, you guys.", he feebly greets.

"Ciel!", Serah exclaims as she turns. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

"What happened?"

"We're not really sure.", Claire chimes in with. "By the time we left the bunker, all the Heartless were gone. We found you passed out by the plaza fountain."

"Fountain…? …Ah! That's right! That's where Marin…and Relena were…"

"Relena? She was here?"

"…" Over the course of the next couple of minutes, Ciel explains to his friends how Relena was controlling the Heartless and had even become a Heartless herself, as well as Marin's decision to track her down in their Gummi Ship. The tale had brought expressions of complete disbelief out of the three.

Snow was particularly bowled over. "Oh, man… This is huge…"

Claire, however, was slightly less so. "Hmph. Considering her track record, can't say I'm that shocked…"

Deciding to bring the conversation back on track, Ciel queries, "Where's Roche?"

"Dunno. No one's seen him all morning."

"What? Roche is missing?"

"…Maybe the Heartless got him…"

"Serah!"

"S-Sorry…"

Roche's heart was too strong for the Heartless to take. Ciel knew that much. But if no one's seen him, it most likely meant he was no longer in Aubade Town. He was too distant for Ciel to detect the light of his Keyblade. "…He must've escaped from the Heartless somehow…", he theorizes. "…I've gotta go look for him!"

"You're leaving…?"

"Marin trusted me to look after Roche. I wouldn't be able to look her in the eye if I betrayed that trust."

"But how do you plan to find him in the first place?", Claire retorts. "Do you even know where to start looking? And besides, Marin took the _Nautilus_, remember?"

"That's right… I forgot about that…" Ciel lowers his head in defeat. For the moment, it seemed his quest was doomed right from the get-go.

But in enters Snow with the day-saving suggestion: "You can take the _NORA_."

"Huh?"

"I have a Gummi Ship too, and it flies like a dream. You can use it to find Roche and Marin!"

"R-Really…?"

"But bring it back when you're done! And you'd better not scratch the paint job!"

Ciel takes Snow's hand in appreciation. "You're the best, Snow! I'll take good care of your ship, I swear!"

"Right! And I'll hold down the fort while you're away!"

With a firm nod, Ciel spins around and races toward the monorail, but not before turning back to the others one last time. "Hey, Claire!", he calls over.

"Y-Yeah?"

"When I get back, I'm gonna buy you the best birthday present ever!"

"Oh…!"

At an outburst like that, Serah couldn't keep from giggling.

A rather out-of-the-blue statement, Claire thought. Still, she felt obligated to give him a sincere smile. "It'd better be worth the wait then!"

The trio watches as Ciel departs and, a short while after, the _NORA_ pulls away from the hangar beneath the plaza and takes off.

As the _NORA_ disappears into the cloud cover, Serah clasps her hands together as if in prayer. "…Be safe."

Behind the steering wheel of the ship, Ciel leaves the light of Aubade Town's sun and is greeted by the black and violet of the Lanes Between. Where his friends had gone, he could only throw guesses. But Ciel would search every world in existence if necessary to find them and bring them home. "Roche… Marin… Wherever you are… I hope you're okay…"


	2. Report 2: Wonder and Thunder

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts is a trademark of Square-Enix and Disney. Any similarities between this and other works submitted is purely coincidental.

* * *

_When clouds go rolling by, they roll away and leave the sky… Where is the land behind the eye that people cannot see…?_

_**Kingdom Hearts ~another side~**_

**~ Report 2: Wonder and Thunder ~**

"WHOOOOOAAAAA!"

The panicky yell echoes off the walls of the cylindrical passage that Ciel floats down through. Like being in a wind tunnel, the boy with blue-green hair "parachutes" down the passage and softly touches down on the red-and-white-tiled floor.

This would be the first stop on Ciel's journey: the realm of ridiculous, Wonderland.

"Ugh… Gotta work on that landing…", Ciel groans to himself. "I'll never hear the end of it from Snow if I dent his ship…" As he shakes off the whiplash, he's finally given a moment to analyze his new surroundings thoroughly. They were certain stranger than what he was accustomed to. "Weird place.", he comments. "If either Roche or Marin are here, it'll be a miracle."

Leaving the large room he arrived in, Ciel steps into the nearby corridor and sees an open door in the distance. Just before the door closes, he catches a glimpse of someone of considerably short stature stepping through. With intent to pursue, Ciel breaks into a light jog down the zigzagging hallway. "…Huh?" After about 15 seconds of running, something strikes the kid as odd: the door didn't seem to be getting any closer, regardless of how far he ran. To test this, he starts to run faster. Everything appeared as expected: the walls to the left and right of him and the floor under his feet moved past relative to his running speed, but the door at the end of the corridor wasn't getting closer. In fact, it looked as though it were moving further and further away. "…Wait a minute…" Ciel stops running and looks behind him. Much to his surprise, the room he'd arrived in was only a few feet to his rear. "What the…? That's impossible!"

"_Hahahaha! Here in Wonderland, there is no 'impossible'! 'Implausible'? Nope! 'Improbable'? Heavens, no!_"

Taking the voice from nowhere to be a threat, Ciel draws his Pierce the Skies Keyblade. "Who's there?", he calls out confrontationally.

"_Who, indeed…?_"

Just as the voice came from nothingness, so too does a creature appear from nothingness, taking the form of a short, chubby feline with an awfully wide grin. Its fur was striped pink and purple, its paws and the tip of its tail a lighter shade of pink, its ears small and pointy, and again, its hair-raising grin stretched from cheek to cheek. The strange cat stood before Ciel on its hind legs. "'Who's there', you say? I say, 'tis I!"

"A…cat?"

"A _Cheshire_ cat, to be precise. A pleasure." To properly welcome Ciel, the Cheshire Cat tips its hat in courtesy. Or rather, he tips his _head_, removing it with ease. As he tosses his own head into the air, it lands back onto his body…upside-down. "Oh, goodness! You can stand on your head too? How splendiferous! How serendipitous!"

"Um…"

"…Hmm? Oh! Silly me!" Removing his head again, the Cheshire Cat places it back on right-side up. "Ahhh! Much better!"

The silly kitten's mannerisms bewilder Ciel a great deal. But since it wasn't attacking, he lowers his guard. "Are you…a Heartless?"

"A who-less?"

"A Heartless."

"Hot dress?

"_Heartless_!"

"Hmm… Maybe. Maybe not. But you know who might know? Those black creatures that started popping up around the kingdom as of late."

"So the Heartless _are_ here!"

"Who's here?"

"The Heartless!"

"The who-less?"

"ARGH!" Ciel's threshold for annoyance had all but been reached. "…Let's try this again. I'm looking for someone. Has anyone else passed through here recently? Anyone with a Keyblade?"

"Can't say. But you know. The shadows hold more secrets than they care to reveal. Perhaps you should try asking them."

"I'll assume that means I'm on my own here. Then how about this? What's with this hallway? I can't get to the other end."

"You sure it's the other end you're trying to reach?"

"…Huh?"

"Could it be it's not the other end you wish to reach, but rather the door _at_ the other end?"

"…Is there a difference?"

"Why, there's a whole world of difference, boy! Wishing to reach the door and wishing to know what's on the other side – those are two entirely different things! There's knowing your limits, and then there's breaking past them! It's up to you to distinguish the two!"

"I…think I understand…"

"Good! …I wonder how far that understanding will take you…" Satisfied with what's been said, the Cheshire Cat leaves, disappearing into the same nothingness from which he emerged. "_Trust not in what you see, but what you feel… And beware the mean Queen… She doesn't take kindly to outsiders…or insiders…_"

"…Well, that was helpful…" With his welcoming committee gone, Ciel gazes down the corridor again and rests his eyes on the door in the distance. "Okay… What I seek is the other side of the door, not just the door itself…" He closes his eyes and reaches out his hand. Within moments, he could feel his fingers wrap around something solid and smooth. It felt like porcelain. As he opens his eyes, Ciel finds his hand gripping a doorknob. The knob of the very door he was trying to reach. "It worked…!"

With his first ordeal behind him, Ciel opens the door and proceeds into a room with decorative wallpaper, assorted pieces of furniture, and a fireplace. On a nearby table, he sees two bottles, both labeled 'Drink Me'. "Hah! Jackpot!", says Ciel, picking up one of the bottles. "I could sure use a drink after all that running." Bringing the rim of the bottle to his lips, he downs a good amount of the drink. "Ahhhhh! That hit the spot!"

Just then, the bottle in Ciel's hand begins to grow in size.

"H-Hey! What the…?" The boy quickly sets the drink down and backs away. Looking around, he notices everything else in the room getting bigger as well. "W-What is this?" By the time everything had stopped growing, Ciel was only about half as tall as the chair's legs. The door he came through, the furniture, the fireplace, and even the bottle Ciel drank from towered over him now. "I-I'm small! I'm tiny! What's going on?"

"_Ohhhh… What's with all the yelling…? I'm trying to sleep over here…_"

"Huh?" On the other side of the room, Ciel notices another door which was, oddly enough, just his size. He runs up and sees a golden doorknob adorning it. "D-Did someone say something?"

A face on the gold plating shows itself to Ciel, complete with eyes, a nose (the doorknob), and a mouth (the keyhole). "Yes. I did.", the face says.

"WHOA! Talking door!"

"Didn't I say to stop yelling? You woke me up from a good dream…"

"Oh. Sorry."

"Yes, yes, just don't let it happen again. Now, if you'll excuse me…" With a powerful yawn, the doorknob starts to drift back to dreamland.

"…Oh! W-Wait a minute! I shrunk! How do I return to normal?"

"Oh, for Pete's sake… You drank from one of the bottles, didn't you?"

"Yeah…"

"Then drink from the other bottle! Use your head, lad!"

"Jeez, excuse me for living…" Regardless of how he got the information, Ciel got it. At least he wasn't doomed to be puny forever. "…Huh?"

Suddenly, through brief flashes of black, the Heartless appear to greet the Keyblade wielder. Some old faces and some new comprised their numbers.

"Tch!" Ciel draws the Pierce the Skies in reply, almost relieved to have some normalcy thrown his way. "Never gets old, does it?" He rushes in to challenge the monsters.

…With only mild effort, Ciel dwindles the Heartless' numbers to nil and props the Keyblade on his shoulder in triumph. "Hah! Whether it's here or home, the Heartless don't stand a chance against me! …Hmm?" Hearing a faint clamor to his left, Ciel readies the Keyblade once more, immediately assuming it to be more Heartless. "…!"

Before the 15-year-old could react, however, he's encircled by a battalion of foot soldiers. They resembled playing cards, with pictures of hearts and spades on their chests, but with heads, arms, and feet. The red heart soldiers wielded lances, while the black spade soldiers brandished axes. Ciel would've tried challenging them, but the soldiers appeared far more trained and organized than the Heartless. "…"

Off to one side, two soldiers step aside to allow entry by another character: a rather large woman dressed in regal attire and jewelry and carrying a small heart-tipped wand. She looks upon Ciel with an expression of profound contempt. "…"

"…"

With a flick of her wand, the woman directs the soldiers to… "Seize him!"

Without a second thought, the Card Soldiers pounce upon Ciel and force him to the ground with their collective weight.

"Hey! What are you…? G-Get off me!" Ciel is subsequently dragged to his feet, hands bound, and led into the next room over. "Stop! What'd I do? Where are you taking me?"

The regally-garbed woman looks on in silence as her 'prisoner' is led away. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a Red Nocturne float up beside her. "Grrrr…" With her heart wand, she swats the lone Heartless away. "Filthy creature!", says the woman furiously before going to join her soldiers.

Ciel is planted behind a podium in the center of a royal court. To each of his left and right sides, a Card Soldier is posted to ensure he stays put and quell any thoughts of escape he might've had. He would've spoken out in protest, but with the place as heavily guarded as it was, he thought it best to keep silent for the time being.

On an elevated platform to the left side of the court, a short white rabbit in spectacles and a red coat addresses the court. "Attention! This session of the Queen of Hearts' royal court is called to order!", proclaims the rabbit.

'Court?', Ciel ponders. 'I'm on trial?'

"It's the case of…of… W-What was your name?"

"Me? It's Ciel, but I–"

"_Ciel v. Wonderland_! Her Majesty, the honorable Queen of Hearts, presiding!"

Seated only a few feet away and above, the Queen of Hearts looks upon Ciel while fiddling with her wand. "…"

"What is all this? Why am I on–?"

"The accused shall refrain from speaking unless spoken to!", the Queen rebukes.

"…"

"Now then… Ciel, was it? You stand accused of bringing those foul, black-skinned beasts to my kingdom. How do you plead?"

"_I_ brought the Heartless here?"

"So you confess!"

"What? No! I'm innocent!"

"Hmph! So you say, but _I'll_ be the judge of that!"

"How can you say I'm in league with the Heartless? I was _fighting_ them!"

"Hah. What a laughable defense. I'm the Queen of Hearts, boy; even I must deal with deserters and traitors to my kingdom. There's no such thing as the perfect follower."

"But–!"

"Enough! I've heard all I needed to hear! Time for my ruling!"

'…From deliberations to verdict in under a minute? What kind of trial is this…?'

"This court finds you…undeniably _guilty_!"

"But I didn't do anything! You have no proof!"

"I require no proof! If I decide you're guilty, then you're guilty! End of story!"

'…It's like trying to argue with an infant…'

"For the crimes of introducing this _black menace_ to my kingdom AND questioning the authority of my court, I sentence you…"

"…"

"…to beheading!"

"!"

In response to the Queen's ruling, the Card Soldiers surround Ciel to prep him for his execution.

That was Ciel's cue. "Okay! Looks like 'behaving Ciel' time is over!" Regardless of having his hands bound behind his back, Ciel demonstrates a level of agility and cunning that only comes with being a wielder of the Keyblade. Drawing the Pierce the Skies into his hand, he launches himself off the ground with an Aero spell, uses that same wind-based magic to cut through the rope that restricted his wrists, and lands outside the circle of Card Soldiers. With a swerve to the left, he flees into the forest.

The Queen was noticeably enraged by this turn of events. "After him, you fools!", screeches she. "Bring me the head of Ciel!"

The 'fugitive' Ciel makes it past a couple of clearings and ducks into a cover of mushrooms. He peeks through the tall grass and watches some Card Soldiers run past. It seemed, for the moment, he was safe. "Whew… Close one… Just when I thought this world couldn't get any weirder…"

"_So you managed to dodge the Queen's 'off with their heads' credo. I commend you._"

To Ciel's rear, the Cheshire Cat makes an encore appearance. "You again. I got some questions, and I feel like you're the only one around here with answers."

"The Cheshire Cat has all the answers – but doesn't always tell."

"The Queen thinks I brought the Heartless to Wonderland, meaning they must've arrived only recently. How long have they been here? Do you know where they're all coming from?"

"Maybe from over here. Or maybe from over there. Or maybe…they've been here since the very beginning."

"The beginning?"

"But I wonder… Did they step out from the darkness on their own? Or did something _pull_ them out?"

"You think there's something else at work here, don't you?"

"So fickle the shadows are… Prowling and howling… Lurking about in the slithy toves and the borogoves…" In the middle of his nonsensical speech, the Cheshire Cat takes his leave of Ciel once again. "_…And the momeraths outgrabe…_"

Ciel couldn't help but be uneasy about the situation. "So something's drawing the Heartless out by force… But what?" While he'd come to Wonderland with the intention of locating Roche and Marin, the young Key bearer felt compelled to assist the residents with their Heartless dilemma. Even someone as corrupt as the Queen of Hearts didn't deserve to have her heart taken. "…All right. But just this once, you hear? If I'm on trial again after this, so help me…"

As he dodges the Card Soldiers, Ciel's investigation into the Heartless leads him into an area on the outskirts of the forest where a lavish tea party had been set up. "Doesn't feel like there's any Heartless here. In fact, this is probably the most light-filled place in Wonderland." He cautiously approaches the table and takes notice of the various tea set items and silverware laid out. "…"

All of a sudden, a series of shrill cries cuts through the calm.

"…You sure are making me work for it, aren't you?" Ciel takes the Keyblade into hand and turns a full 180. There, at the garden entrance, over two dozen Soldiers, Blue Rhapsodies, and Yellow Operas stare him down. "Well then… Make it interesting for me, huh?"

"…What do you mean you haven't found him yet?"

An apprehensive Card of Spades reports to the Queen of Hearts in her court. "H-He's proving to be rather elusive, your Majesty. We're turning the Lotus Forest and Bizarre Room upside-down, but it's become quite the chore, what with all those black creatures squirming about…"

"Imbecile! You will bring the boy to me within the next five minutes, or it's off with _your_ head!"

Knowing the Queen of Hearts, she would most assuredly follow through on that threat. "Y-Yes, your Grace! As you command!"

But before any further manhunts could be carried out, a bone-chilling howl shakes Wonderland to its very core.

"W-What is it now?"

"It came from the Bizarre Room!"

It isn't until after Ciel finishes exterminating Heartless in the Tea Party Garden that the sound of the howl reaches his ears. "Whoa… That sounded huge…"

"_Quite huge indeed… A world in need… Will you heed…or let the darkness be freed…?_"

"…I can't just allow the Heartless to consume Wonderland. I'll fight! Just lead the way!"

"_I think you already know the way… Am I wrong?_"

Ciel closes his eyes momentarily and contemplates on the Cheshire Cat's words. His mouth curls into a smirk. "…I guess not. After all, you have all the answers."

"_Hehehe… How very true…_"

With blade in hand, Ciel charges past the garden and through the dense forest. He effortlessly dispatches any Heartless that bar his path and returns to a most upsetting picture in the Queen's court: her entire 'deck' of soldiers was on the ground, battered and beaten. "Holy…! W-What happened here?"

"Get up! Get up, you incompetent clods!", the Queen of Hearts bellows, attempting to stir her unconscious knights awake. "Up at once, or I'll have _all_ your heads!"

Another howl echoes from within the Bizarre Room.

"Ohhhh… What's to become of my kingdom…? …You there! Boy!"

"Me?"

"You say you aren't in league with those beasts? Prove it! Rid my kingdom of that vile rabbit!"

'Rabbit…?' Did she refer to the White Rabbit? Somehow, Ciel couldn't imagine that harmless-looking critter making such a terrifying sound. "…Right. Leave it to me." With this assurance of victory, Ciel bolts into the Bizarre Room.

"…Hmph! I care for results, not bravado!"

Ciel returns to the room where his miniature adventure had started, and looks around in search of the howling Heartless. It was quiet for the most part, save for the Doorknob's snoring. He takes a few steps toward the center of the room, but stops short when a drop of hot saliva splashes at his feet. Ciel's eyes shoot upward and they meet the gaze of a Heartless scaling the ceiling.

The ferocious beast largely resembled a rabbit with tan fur, with a tuft of blond hair where the base of its ears meet its head. The _Mad Hare_ clings to the ceiling, glares at Ciel with deranged, bloodshot eyes, and bares its serrated fangs as it snarls.

"That's definitely not the White Rabbit!" Pointing his Keyblade up, Ciel fires at the monster with bullets of compressed air.

The Hare crawls swiftly along the ceiling to evade Ciel's shots, then leaps onto the floor below with a crash to face Ciel up-close. It roars in defiance of the Keyblade. Taking hold of the blade with both hands, Ciel rushes inward. As he swipes horizontally, the Hare leaps again, landing on the table on the middle of the room. Ciel bounces back and motion an upward vertical slash to cut into the Hare's flesh. It howls in pain and jumps backward to the wall. From this position, it pushes off the wall with its feet and drives its claws at Ciel. Ciel defends against the brunt of the attack, but due to the Hare's quickness, some damage does get through. "Tch!" While the beast has its back turned to him, Ciel hops onto its back. As expected, the Hare doesn't consent to this and tries to shake Ciel loose with its jumping power. Ciel uses strands of the Heartless' fur as makeshift reins and forces it into the wall. The Hare goes down right away, prompting Ciel to make himself airborne. From several yards up, Ciel flings and retracts his Keyblade with such velocity that he appeared to be throwing numerous Pierce the Skies'. Once his multi-Strike Raid assault was completed, he lands on the center table. Severely weakened but not beaten, the Hare turns its head back and roars at Ciel with so much intensity, it blows him off the table and into a wall. "Oof!" Ciel crashes to the floor, on his back, in a daze. As his eyes readjust, he sees the Hare pouncing upon him. Thinking quickly, Ciel takes his Keyblade and holds it out in front of him to keep the Hare's claws from impaling him. As its head hangs over Ciel, the beastly rabbit gnaws incessantly at the air. Ciel's first thought: the Mad Hare was intent on devouring him. "I don't think so…!" Kicking at the monster's underbelly, the boy flips the Hare over him and onto its back in a maneuver similar to one Claire had demonstrated on him the day before. Having accomplished this, Ciel hops onto the Heartless, and the situation was overturned: Ciel was now on top, and the Hare used its claws to keep him at bay. Glancing down, he notices the Heartless emblem on the Mad Hare's underbelly. The object of Ciel's attack was clear. With a revolving attack, he briefly stuns the monster's limbs, and… "Take _this_!" …thrusts the Keyblade into the emblem and twists it 90 degrees as if unlocking a door. The Hare lets out a great pained roar as jagged shafts of light pour out from the emblem. The Heartless crumbles to black dust, its freed heart floating away as a result.

"Whew…", Ciel exhales in relief.

Atop the center table, the Cheshire Cat appears before Ciel one last time, quite impressed by the battle. "Marvelous! Stupendous! …I suppose…"

Ciel puts his weapon away and meets the jokester's eye. "Hey. Be honest. You were helping me because you didn't want to see Wonderland swallowed by the darkness. Right?"

"'Help'? Who knows? It could be that _you_ helped _me_. It all depends on how you look at it. Me? I always look at things from…" The playful cat's head rotates at an axis until it was upside-down. "…a different perspective."

"I understand. This place is your home. It's only natural to want to protect where you live."

"Hmm…"

"But why lead me on with all the riddles and cryptic talk?"

"Oh, didn't you know? I'm quite mad. Mad as a March hare, you might say! Hahaha!" Same as before, the Cheshire Cat vanishes after saying his piece, leaving only the sound of his laughter behind.

Even Ciel has himself a short chuckle. "'Mad'? Try 'downright nuts'."

His escapade in Wonderland now at its end, Ciel prepares to return to the NORA and move on to the next world. He stands before the door he first came in through…and notices it towering over him by several stories. In his forgetfulness, Ciel had forgotten to restore his original height. "Oh, yeah… Knew there was something I forgot to do… Hehehe…"


	3. Report 3: Sons of Man

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts is a trademark of Square-Enix and Disney. Any similarities between this and other works submitted is purely coincidental.

* * *

_The power to be strong and the wisdom to be wise… All these things will come to you in time…_

_**Kingdom Hearts ~another side~**_

**~ Report 3: Sons of Man ~**

"Aah!"

With a rather girlish yelp, Roche falls through to the other side of the Corridor of Light - which had opened up to him in Aubade Town - and lands in a dilapidated, long-since-abandoned tree house. Falling face-down onto the heavily splintered flooring, he picks himself up to observe the unfamiliar setting. "Wha…? Where…?", Roche whimpers in his disorientation. Looking straight ahead then, he takes notice of the white portal he'd fallen through, hypnotized by the swirling light within. His eyes widen with panic, however, as the portal begins to close. "W-Wait!" Roche scrambles to his feet and runs madly toward the shrinking Corridor.

Alas, this would prove to be a wasted effort, as the portal reduces to a size too small for Roche to fit through by the time he reaches it. Within just seconds, the light vanishes without a trace.

"No! Come back!", cries the young Key bearer, scratching and pounding at the wall. "I gotta go back there! They need my help! Open up!" As his shouts fall on deaf ears, Roche slumps to his knees. "…Now what do I do…? Sis… Ciel…" In the face of his situation, the boy was all but ready to collapse in tears.

A wicked entity prowling nearby wouldn't have that. "_Grrrr…_"

The growling reaches Roche's ears, prompting him to spin around and draw his Keyblade. With his feet planted firmly on the wooden floor, he keeps his weapon at the ready. "…"

After several moments of heart-pounding silence, an animal-like mass moves swiftly across the rafters above, more swiftly than Roche's eyes could follow. And with a fearsome roar, it pounces down!

"Whoa!" Roche quickly leaps away before his flesh is dug into by claws…

…and stands opposite a leopard with yellow fur and black spots. The jungle cat bares her razor-sharp fangs at Roche and growls menacingly.

While Roche was no stranger to danger, he'd never faced anything quite so threatening. "N-Nice kitty…", he says in a feeble attempt to appease the beast.

The leopard pounces a second time.

Roche rolls out of the way once again, causing the beast to dig its claws into a nearby wall. With its defenses dropped, Roche grabs the leopard's tail and flings her across the room into a pile of broken wood and glass. She quickly returns to her feet, and Roche follows up by blasting spheres of fire at her. The leopard sprints around the room, dodging the fireballs effortlessly, rebounds off of a wall, and jumps at Roche a third time.

This time, the claws hit their mark, and Roche is slashed along his right shoulder. "Gah!" Roche falls to one knee and presses his hand to the wound.

The jungle cat found herself even hungrier at the scent of the boy's blood. She growls quietly in bloodlust-driven anticipation.

Ignoring the pain in his arm, Roche climbs to his feet and readies the Superquake again. "…"

With a gaze that screamed 'time to eat!', the leopard springs forward once more.

"!"

Just then… "Grah!" …a second figure - a barely clothed figure - swoops in from the right and drives its feet into the leopard's side, causing her to careen into the back wall.

A shocked Roche looks on at his savior - a heavily-tanned loincloth-wearing man appearing to be in his early 20s. His brown hair hung from the sides of his head in dreadlocks, and he had a moderately muscular build. In his left hand was a makeshift spear, fashioned from a sharp rock and a thin tree branch.

As she recovers from the collision, the leopard growls angrily at her attacker.

The man in the loincloth growls back with a series of unintelligible grunts and hoots, like that of a primate.

"What the…?"

Weakened and now outnumbered, the yellow-furred beast beats a hasty retreat through a broken window.

Roche exhales a relieved sigh and faces his rescuer. "Thanks a lot, mister. I thought I was done for."

The man turns to face Roche in reply. Saying nothing, he simply stares intently at him.

His stare causes Roche a degree of discomfort. "…W-What?", he asks awkward.

Still saying nothing, the brown-haired man encircles the boy, sniffing him and uttering more of his strange language.

Roche's uneasiness heightens. "S-Sorry, I don't understand. Um… Oh, boy…"

After a few seconds of his bizarre behavior, the man lays eyes upon Roche's Keyblade. Its luster and intricate design captivates him. He reaches out in curiosity and presses his fingertips to the blade.

"Hey, what are you…?"

Reacting to the wild man's touch, the Superquake gives off a blinding flash of light that engulfs both him and Roche. Energy is briefly shared between the two, and the light shortly disappears.

The man in the loincloth jumps away, shaken and alarmed by the odd sight. "What was that?", he barks. "What did you just do to me?"

"I didn't do anything!", Roche defends. "It was…! …Wait. You can understand me?"

"Understand _you_? How do _you_ understand _me_? Who are you? You're no ape I've seen before."

"Ape?" The man's native language must be that of apes, Roche deduces. Through the magic of the Keyblade, a communication gap must've been bridged. "…I'm Roche."

"Where'd you come from?"

"Somewhere that's…faraway. I'm…lost, I guess."

"Where's your family?"

"I… I dunno. We got separated."

"…" While the boy's answers were vague at best, the brown-haired man seemed to sympathize with his plight. "…I'm Tarzan. And don't worry. I'm sure you and your family find each other soon enough."

"Yeah, but…they probably don't even know I'm here."

"I see. Well, they must be worried about you a great deal. And that concern will surely lead you to them again. Don't lose heart."

"Heart… Okay. Thanks, Tarzan."

"Alright then. Come on, we shouldn't stay here. And you shouldn't be alone in the jungle with Sabor out there."

"Sabor?"

"The leopard I just chased off."

"Oh."

"Let's head to the nest. You can meet my family. Be warned though - there are other dangers in the jungle besides Sabor. Think you can handle it?"

"Definitely! As long as I've got the Keyblade, I can take on anything!"

"Hmm. We'll see."

The ape man called Tarzan leads Roche out of the tree house through the balcony, where Roche is treated to a breathtaking view of the sun-dappled jungle. "Wow…!", he marvels.

"Well? You coming or aren't you?"

Off to the side, Roche sees Tarzan already making his way down, climbing over the balcony's ledge and jumping to the trees.

"…Heh!" An over-eager Roche follows, stepping onto the wooden railing and taking a bountiful leap into the sea of green below.

Past the dense cover of trees and vines, Roche and Tarzan make their way through the jungle, so far without incident. All the while, the little Keyblade wielder is awestruck by the forest's sights and sounds. Roche had always been the adventurous type, and he's loved climbing trees for as long as he'd lived; this jungle could not have been a more fitting environment. "You really live here, Tarzan?"

"Mm-hmm. My whole life."

"Cool…"

"It's not the safest place to live, but the others and I get by. As long as Kerchak is here to protect us."

"Kerchak? Is that your leader or something?"

"Yup. He's also my father. Kerchak's truly amazing. He's strong, brave, protective. The good of the herd always comes first to him. If only I could be half the ape he is…"

"But you're plenty strong, Tarzan! And brave too! If it wasn't for you, I'd be cat food by now!"

"Hmm…" Not that Roche's kind words didn't get through, but Tarzan still seemed down. "…?" Just then, his nose hairs start to twitch. He catches the scent of something strange in the air. In response, he brandishes his javelin. "…Watch out! _Mal'yat_!"

"Molly what?"

"GET DOWN!"

Per Tarzan's order, Roche leans over, allowing the ape man to chuck his weapon. The spearhead pierces a figure in midair, traveling through its form and leaving nothing but black dust. Turning around, Roche takes notices of several more figures, all with black mouth-less faces and yellow eyes, surrounding him and Tarzan. Some were of standard Shadow fare, while others resembled monkeys. "Heartless!", exclaims Roche, drawing his Keyblade forth.

Tarzan retrieves his spear as he and Roche are thrust into battle again. Roche easily cuts through the horde of Shadows, but the movement and attack patterns of the Powerwilds and Bouncywilds would catch him off-guard. Those particular Heartless would fall by Tarzan's hands instead.

Once the battle reaches a point at which only one Powerwild remained, it turns tail and retreats into the thick brush.

"That one's getting away!", states Roche, preparing to give chase.

Tarzan cuts him off however. "Hold on.", he starts, bearing a smirk. "…Just wait."

At that moment, Roche hears something akin to a bugle call. Just seconds later, he witnesses the fugitive Powerwild's swift return through the bushes.

Quickly following the fleeing Heartless was an elephant, its trunk producing the aforementioned bugle-like sound. On its back was a female gorilla with dark hair. As if directing the elephant, she bellows, "_**CHARGE!**_"

"Yikes!"

With a mighty trumpet, the red-haired mammoth coils its trunk around the Heartless' midsection and flings it violently into a tree.

The Powerwild shatters into black particles immediately upon impact.

"Yeah!", the gorilla shouts in triumph. "That's right, you overgrown roaches! This is _our_ house! Anyone else want some o' this?"

"Enjoying yourself, Terk?"

"Eh?" The gorilla Terk glances down from the mammoth's back and meets Tarzan face-to-face. Her subsequent expression spoke volumes of annoyance. "Well, well, look who decided to show up!" Climbing up, she jumps from her 'ride' and lands softly in the grass below on her feet. "Real nice o' ya to split right when we're up to our necks in Mal'yat! You're lucky I was there to take charge of the situation!"

"_You_ took charge?", the elephant interrupts. "I did all the work while you barked orders from my 'passenger seat'!"

"It's called management, Tantor.", Terk argues. "This ship needs at least _one_ captain, and it sure as heck ain't you. No offense."

"Yeah, well, if I get turned into a Mal'yat 'cuz of your so-called 'management', we'll see whose backside you'll have to ride around on then!"

Roche had almost laughed at the comedy act playing out before him. Addressing Tarzan, he asks, "Friends of yours?"

"Heh. Unfortunately."

"…Hey.", Terk starts again. "Who's the new kid? He kinda looks like a pint-sized you. Except, you know, with more covering."

Tantor shies away. "H-He's not a Mal'yat, is he…?"

"Don't worry, he's not. Terk, Tantor, this is Roche. He got separated from his herd, so I'm kinda looking after him for a bit."

"Hi.", Roche greets with a smile.

"Tarzan babysitting, huh? Never thought I'd see the day." For all her wittiness, Terk was elated to meet a new face all the same. Walking over, she drapes an arm over his shoulder. "Pleased to meet ya, kid. Name's Terk. Any bud o' Tarzan's is a bud o' mine!"

"Tantor. Charmed, I'm sure."

"Same here. …So…what's a 'Mal'yat'…?"

Tarzan's expression sours. "Those black-faced monsters that just attacked us. They've been terrorizing the entire jungle for the past couple of months. We're not completely sure what they are, so we just call them '_Mal'yat_' - the 'yellow-eyed ones'."

"You mean the Heartless?"

"'Heart…less'…? Is that what your herd calls them?"

"U-Uh… Yeah."

"Oh! What dreadful creatures!", enters Tantor in a quiver. "They'll eat just about anything they can get their claws on, sometimes even their own kind! Not even the leopards are safe! What's more, they can even turn _other animals_ into Mal'yat once they're dead!"

"…Just like zombies…"

"We've managed to stave off the Mal'yat in small increments, and we're constantly on the move, but their numbers increase with each passing day. In another month or so, they'll have taken over everything, and not a single normal being will be left…!"

"Tarzan…"

"Way to drop morale to an all-time low, 'Captain Bringdown'…"

Roche wouldn't hear any talk of hopelessness. "Don't talk like that, Tarzan!"

"Roche…?"

"This is your home, isn't it? Didn't you say you've lived here your whole life? You shouldn't give up just 'cuz you're outnumbered 100-to-one! If you want your friends and family to survive, you gotta fight! Fight 'til you can't fight anymore!"

"…That's exactly what I've been doing since the Mal'yat first appeared, Roche. There's only so much one ape can handle alone."

"But you're not alone. You've got Terk, Tantor, the rest of your herd…and now me."

Roche's words had a blatant innocence about them, which was understandable considering his age, but strangely enough, Tarzan could feel his depression lifting. It was a slow but sure ascent out of despair. "…Hmph. Alright, Roche. You have my attention."

"Listen. I've been fighting the Heartless for a long time now. I've picked up on how they think, how they act. Usually, they operate in groups of no more than twenty. But for this many to work together - and so well - there has to be someone or something controlling them from faraway. Do the Heartless have a place in the jungle they go off to when they're done hunting for food?"

Tantor replies, "Well, Terk and I sometimes see them going off toward Dark Mountain."

"I bet that's where the pack leader is. Instead of waiting for the Heartless to come here, I say we go up to Dark Mountain, track down whatever's pulling the Heartless' strings, and take the fight to it! We can liberate the jungle in one fell swoop!"

The boy's words were beginning to affect even Terk. "I like this kid!", she comments. Jabbing at Tarzan with her elbow, she continues, "Where've ya been hiding him this whole time?"

"I dunno…"

"Don't you wanna prove to Kerchak you have what it takes to protect your family, and you're just as much the ape he is?"

"…" Tarzan lowers his head and has a moment of silence to himself. It had indeed been a goal of his to gain his father's approval. But the ape man lacked experience. He was far from Kerchak's equal; chances were he never would be. Still, the jungle and all who called it home was facing a dire threat. And Tarzan couldn't help but ask himself: Which was more important? The welfare of the jungle, or a father's love?

Terk and Tantor are stricken with an identical silence, hinging on his next thought.

"…Hmph." Tarzan raises his head to meet Roche's eye, his gaze steeled. "…Come with me."

"Huh? Where are we going?"

"…To see Kerchak."

Roche's heart skips a beat. The thought of meeting Tarzan's father and leader of his herd was far from what he'd expected the day to bring. It was safe to say, however, that this wasn't like most days. As he swallows the lump in his throat, Roche follows, with Terk and Tantor close behind.

"…How long until after he meets Kerchak do you think he'll wet himself?", jokes Terk.

With a narrowed brow, Tantor responds, "I give him a minute. Two minutes tops."

It wouldn't be a terribly lengthy trek to the gorillas' den, but the steady onrush of Heartless made the journey longer than what was preferred. In just under half an hour's time, the group reaches the den at last, and Roche finds himself in the presence of a black-haired ape almost twice his own height. Ape leader Kerchak leans forward on his enormous arms and confronts the little Key bearer and Tarzan. "You would bring this…_outsider_ to our den!", he challenges. "Have you no concern for your family's safety? How could you be so irresponsible?"

"Roche isn't an outsider.", Tarzan challenges back, albeit more calmly. "He's just a fellow ape who's lost his way. All I'm doing is helping him find it again."

"You know nothing about him _OR_ his herd! He could be a Mal'yat in disguise!"

Unease brews amongst the surrounding apes at the mere mention of the Heartless.

"I may not know him well, but I've seen his strength firsthand! It's almost…otherworldly. Roche has much experience combating the Mal'yat, and I believe, with his help, we can free the jungle of them! Isn't that what's most important?"

"What's most important is that we survive!"

"Kerchak!"

In response to Tarzan's defiance, Kerchak lets out a furious bellow that echoes to the treetops. An assortment of birds takes flight and flaps away in fear of the sound. Tarzan stands his ground however. Realizing his refusal to budge, Kerchak turns his scowl on Roche. "You claim you lost your family? I don't believe you. Why are you _really_ here?"

"I-I…" As his lower lip trembles and his knees knock together, the boy struggles to string his thoughts into coherent speech. "I just… I just want to go back home!"

"…"

"But… I know how much trouble the Heart- I mean, _Mal'yat_ cause. If there's a way I can help, I'll do it! 'Cuz it's what my sister would do! Just gimme a chance!"

Kerchak's angry scowl lingers, and the fear in Roche's eyes was evident to him. But there was something else in the boy's eyes. A faint something that Kerchak had only seen before in Tarzan. Determination. Purpose. Will to live. The boy may have been considerably young, but he had a heart as big as Kerchak's, if not bigger. "…" The anger in his expression lessens and he exhales a sigh. Turning his back to the two, he looks to his mate and Tarzan's mother, the brown-haired Kala.

Looking back, Kala gives an encouraging smile.

In the face of such warmth, Kerchak could say nothing in his defense. With his back still turned to Tarzan and Roche, he briefly addresses them. "…You will do what you can about the Mal'yat. You will see them driven from our home. And once you've done that…you will leave this jungle as well."

Roche simply looks on as Kerchak takes his leave, puzzled whether his words signified consent or rejection. "Um… I don't think your dad likes me.", he comments…

…to which an off-to-the-side Terk has a short laugh to herself. "Don't sweat it. Kerchak doesn't like anybody."

"He just has trouble expressing himself openly.", Tarzan explains. "But he sees your resolve as well as I do. And he wants to see how far it'll take you. …So what do you say, Roche? Wanna show Kerchak what we're made of?"

"Yeah! Next stop: Dark Mountain!"

…Elsewhere, in a spacious gorge that formed the base of the mountain, whole herds of Shadows and Powerwilds jump and howl as they bear witness to an exhilarating power struggle.

To one side of the conflict was the always ferocious Sabor. She slowly paces along the edge just inside the circle of Heartless. Cuts and spots of bloodied fur line her feline form.

In the other corner was her opponent: a panther with fur as black as the night sky. Its eyes glow a bright shade of gold, and its breaths were of blackened mist.

Sabor bares her fangs as she lunges forth.

The panther's body suddenly becomes like liquid, black in appearance and fluid in substance, allowing for Sabor's claws to pass through harmlessly. The beast reassumes its solid form behind Sabor, a position from which it easily tears into Sabor's flesh.

The leopard growls in pain, and she hits the ground yet again.

The crowd of Heartless maintains its excited cries.

After several moments of throbbing agony, Sabor returns to her feet and glares at her opponent.

The black panther lets out a defiant growl, as if saying "this is my territory, stay out".

Faced by not only an unusual enemy but also its legion of followers, the leopard turns tail and runs before suffering further injury.

The panther roars to the sky in victory, the cries of its Heartless minions growing louder.

From a moderate distance away, Tarzan and Roche watch through a crevice in the gorge wall. Roche's brows droop as Sabor makes her escape. "I almost feel sorry for her…", he comments partly to himself.

"That must be the Mal'yat leader.", says Tarzan, referring to the panther. "But there must be dozens of Mal'yat out there. How do we get rid of them all?"

Roche readies his weapon as the blade burns with the color of flame. "Leave that to me.", he assures with a grin.

Still keyed up from its win over the jungle cat Sabor, the panther Heartless turns its head toward the sound of something whizzing through the air.

A solitary fireball makes contact with and incinerates a Powerwild. Its pained hoots and shrieks echo for all of three seconds until its heart is liberated.

The panther looks upward and sees a multitude of additional fireballs in the first one's wake. As it leaps out the volley's vicinity, the Heartless army falls prey to the scorching rainfall. Looking puzzled, the panther gazes at the powdery remains of its army and finds itself confronted by the Keyblade-wielding Roche and the ape man Tarzan. It snarls angrily over its legion's decimation and clenches the pebbles at its feet.

Roche points the Superquake toward the panther, effectively issuing a challenge. "This is it, you Heartless creep!", the lad boldly proclaims. "Nowhere to run and no minions to hide behind! It's just you and us!"

Tightening his grip on the shaft of his weapon, Tarzan announces similarly, "Today, my family will be free of you monsters!"

The black-furred beast roars in acceptance of the challenge. It spreads out its paws and crouches down, poised to attack or defend if need be.

With a grunt, Tarzan leads the attack, vaulting upward to strike from above, while Roche rushes forward on the ground. As he descends, Tarzan thrusts his spear down. The panther easily evades the attack with a short leap to the side. While the cat's attention was focused on Tarzan, Roche jumps in from the side. He swings the Keyblade in a spinning left-to-right arc. Like before with Sabor, the panther's body becomes like liquid, and the Keyblade passes through it. It reassumes a solid form and scratches at Roche's back. The lad staggers briefly, but Tarzan picks up his slack, jumping at the panther with a series of quick swings and thrusts. The panther ducks and weaves past Tarzan's attacks, save for several grazes here and there. When Tarzan thrusts low, the black beast slams its paw onto the spear where the tip of the shaft met the base of the blade. Now open to attack, Tarzan receives a claw slash to the chest, causing him to recoil. The panther's level of speed and agility clearly exceeded that of her opponents. Realizing this, Roche and Tarzan elect to combine their efforts, double-teaming the nimble beast with a joint Keyblade/spear assault. The persistence of their attacks and elegance of their movement overwhelm the feline Heartless, driving it consistently backward and cutting into its stamina. In angered retaliation, the panther slams its front paws onto the ground, pushing the two back with a short-range shockwave.

Tarzan and his adolescent ally recover a handful of meters away. "It's strong…!", the ape man observes. "And its abilities are so unearthly…!"

"Think so…?", rebuts Roche with a short chuckle. "These guys are pretty common where I come from."

"…Really…?"

"Look out! Here it comes again!"

"!" Taking a defensive stance, Tarzan readies his spear just in time to shield himself from the panther's incoming attack. It digs its sharp claws into the wood and lunges at Tarzan's face with its fangs. From the panther's body weight, Tarzan is driven onto his back, his weapon the only thing between him and certain death.

"Bad kitty!", Roche shouts, attempting to swat the Heartless away with a vertical sword swing to its midsection. Once again, the panther liquefies its body to escape the boy's strike: a spectacle to which Roche could only grit his teeth. "Not again!"

The black mass of slime leaps away for the Heartless to solidify, but rather than settle for simply solidifying, the slippery mass splits in half and takes the form of two identical black panthers.

"You've gotta be kidding me…!", gripes the Keyblade wielder.

The twin panthers go on the prowl, assailing Roche and Tarzan faster than they could react. With the number of attacks received, the two drop to their knees in helplessness. "Is… Is there no way to win this…?"

"S-Sis…!"

Its opponents' defeat imminent, the two panthers liquefy once more to reassume a single form. As the two masses of liquid converge…

"!" …Tarzan takes the initiative and tosses his javelin.

As the weapon sails through its liquid form, the beast convulses violently, and its high-pitched fluctuating wail echoes across the chasm.

"I see now!", exclaims Tarzan. "It's more flexible in that liquid state, but it's also when it's most vulnerable!"

"Oh, yeah?", Roche exhales as he rises to his feet. "That gives me an idea!"

The panther Heartless resumes its solid form and looks ahead, taking immediate notice of the attacking Roche. It widens its stance, and - to Roche's eyes - its body becomes almost wavy, as if in that in-between state of solid and liquid.

'Perfect!' With a grin of confidence, Roche presses his palm to the Superquake's blade. In response, the blade gives off a gentle light-blue aura.

In the moments that follow, the boy would swing his weapon horizontally, and the Heartless would predictably evade through the liquefaction of its body. During the attack, however, Roche expels a burst of frigid air from the Keyblade, freezing the panther within that state with a show of Blizzard magic. "Gotcha!"

"Nice!"

The battle would be far from over, however, as the chunks of ice-encased Heartless that lined the ground at Roche's feet begin to vibrate. In a few short moments, the panther would be freed.

"Not on my watch!", Roche proclaims dramatically. Quickly pinpointing the fragment of ice that contained the Heartless' emblem, he draws back for a second and thrusts the Keyblade into the emblem. The ice dissolves, and the panther returns to normal. A brief black aura envelops it and fades away, revealing the beast to be nothing more than a regular jungle animal.

Just then, a gaseous sphere of black and purple lifts from the panther's body and drifts upward. It sports the same yellow eyes as its Heartless kinfolk, along with a jagged red line that formed its mouth.

And like its fellow Heartless, this creature was all too familiar to Roche. "An _Overshadower_…!"

"Over…what?"

"It's a type of Heartless. Pretty weak on its own, so it possesses other living things as hosts to do its bidding. It must've taken control of the panther's body and made Heartless out of the other animals to protect itself."

"Then we can't let it get away! It'll take over another animal's body and start all over again!"

"Don't worry. This just got a whole lot easier." Roche twirls the Keyblade in his hand and points it at the fleeing Overshadower. A swirl of light encircles the tip and releases in the form of a ray beam.

The light strikes through without mercy, and the Heartless crumbles into dust, liberating its heart in the process.

Roche wipes the sweat from his brow and sighs with satisfaction. "It's over…"

Tarzan sighs similarly, lowering his spear. "Yeah… You really are a remarkable kid, Roche. I owe you one."

"Heh. No problem. …I just wish I'd found Sis and Ciel by now…"

As if responding to Roche's heartfelt wish, a flicker of light from the Keyblade causes a Corridor of Light to open up before him.

"Whoa… It's that same door from before…! Is the Keyblade guiding me…?"

"Hmph. I had my suspicions."

"Suspicions?"

"Earlier, you told me you were from somewhere 'faraway'. But I'm guessing you weren't talking about the far end of the jungle, right?"

"…" Roche hides his look of shame. "I… I didn't mean to lie to you."

"You don't have to apologize. You value your family's privacy just as I value mine. And right now…your family's waiting for you to return home. Don't keep them waiting."

"…Thanks, Tarzan."

"No. Thank _you_, Roche. I, my herd, the entire jungle - we all owe you a great debt of gratitude. I hope you find your family again soon…_abalu_."

'_Abalu_'. A word in the ape language meaning 'brother', 'friend'. Roche smiles at the sentiment and bids a fond farewell to his new friend. He then turns to the Corridor, taking a deep breath before stepping inside, praying that the path inside was the path that led home.


	4. Report 4: Rustle in the Silence

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts is a trademark of Square-Enix and Disney. Any similarities between this and other works submitted are purely coincidental.

* * *

_If I know you, I know what you do… __You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream…_

_**Kingdom Hearts ~another side~**_

**~ Report 4: Rustle in the Silence ~**

A magnificent castle with walls of white and royal blue rooftops stretches toward the sky. At its base lay a small town that borders a dense forest. A grayish-blue sky covers all from here to the forbidden mountain.

Were one to look closely, one could see a shimmering magical barrier coating the entirety of the castle, invisible to the eyes of most.

Just outside the castle, at the outer end of a grand stone bridge, a small armed force of humanoid creatures attempts to force its way past the barrier and into the castle. Their approach of ramming their heads and shoulders into it proves ineffective though.

To the creatures' rear stands a tall green-skinned woman wearing a black-horned headdress and a black purple-trimmed robe. In her left hand, the woman holds a magic staff with a lustrous green orb at the tip. Tapping the orb impatiently with her fingertips, she briefly addresses her soldiers. "Bumbling buffoons!", the woman bellows. "Is breaching a feeble barrier such as this so beyond you? My patience nears its threshold!"

"Yes, Maleficent!", the soldiers reply in unison. Despite their persistence, however, the barrier refuses to budge even an inch.

The sorceress Maleficent shakes her head in exasperation. "I grow weary of this charade… Move aside, fools! As usual, the situation requires a more…delicate touch."

At her command, the soldiers make room for Maleficent to work her magic.

The mistress of evil steps forward and readies her staff. Within the green orb at its tip, energy starts to swirl. Grasping the staff with both hands and raising it up, she invokes, "_Denizens of darkness, my will obey…! Defy this barrier and break it away…! Heed my command; do as I say!_" As she strikes the ground with the base of her staff…

…various Heartless emerge from the shadows and appear before her. Maleficent directs the mass of Shadows to the barrier, and they promptly jump at its invisible wall. While the barrier proves resilient even now, the Heartless find they're able to slip through 'cracks' in the shielding and emerge on the other side. The Shadows then hobble their way up the bridge and toward the castle entrance.

Upon accomplishing this, Maleficent falls to one knee, sweating and breathing heavily.

The soldiers crowd around their mistress with anxious cries of "Your Excellency!" and "Are you alright?"

Dismissing their concerns, Maleficent snaps, "Back! Back, you cretins!" As her labored breaths subside, the sorceress recovers (to a degree), propping herself up on her staff. "It would seem my power has yet to completely return, even after a year's time…" She grits her teeth at the thought of those two Keyblade wielders she'd suffered defeat from a year past.

'_There's no way Terra would hurt somebody like that!'_

'_Try all you want, but you'll never defeat a heart filled with light!'_

"_Keyblade_…", Maleficent growls. "A power both magnificent and loathsome… If I am to claim the princess's heart as my own, I must…!" Suddenly, a distant droning sound turns Maleficent's attention upward. Over the castle rise, a mysterious spacecraft flies overhead and descends upon the kingdom - a sight that causes the evil sorceress to raise an eyebrow. "Curious…", she says beneath her breath.

Several minutes after Maleficent's sighting of it, the ship lands in a clearing in the forest where the trees and other delicate greenery would be least disturbed. A hatch underneath the hull hisses open, and Marin steps outside. She takes a moment to adjust to her new surroundings and sets out on foot. When she reaches a hillside that overlooks the kingdom, she gasps in awe. "Wow… Now _that's_ an impressive castle…", Marin marvels. "…Too bad I'm not here to sightsee. Okay, Relena… Where are you hiding…?"

The young woman's search for Relena leads her through the small town at the base of the castle. All of the houses were boarded up, and all establishments of commerce were closed. For an Aubade Town native like Marin, such a scene was most unsettling. "Hello…?", Marin calls out, hoping for a reply. "Is anyone here…?" On three occasions, she would knock on the front door of a residence and receive no reply. "Talk about creepy times ten…" Just then, out of the corner of her eye, Marin notices a figure in motion. She looks over and sees an adult man scrambling to get off the street. "Hey! Excuse me, sir!", she calls over, approaching with a light jog.

"Aah!" Frightened by the girl's presence and desperate for a hiding place, the man ducks inside a barrel.

"Who are you hiding from?", the redhead inquires.

"T-The evil witch Maleficent! Her and those _awful_ soul-stealing monsters in her employ!"

"Dunno who this 'Maleficent' is, but 'soul-stealing monsters'? Definitely Heartless…! Do you know where they are?"

"They're attempting to wrest passage into her Highness Princess Aurora's castle!"

"'Aurora' - there's another name that's new to me. Thanks!" Turning north, Marin bolts out of the residential district and starts up the bridge.

"Ohhhh… Such terrible misfortune this day has brought to our kingdom… If not for that golden-haired seductress…!"

As she walks along the stone bridge leading to the castle, Marin finds the area just as noiseless as the town she'd left. She detected no trace of Heartless or this 'Maleficent'. "No one here either? Feels like I'm being given the run-around…"

All of a sudden, in her state of defenselessness, an assortment of Heartless - including Shadows, Neoshadows, Soldiers, and Large Bodies - appears to confront her.

"Hmph! I stand corrected!", says Marin, drawing the Deepest Blue into her hand. "Well, what are ya waiting for? Bring it on!"

While Marin combats the Heartless, Maleficent bears witness to her strength from the shadows. "This girl…", she starts in a sinister whisper. "She too possesses the might of the Keyblade… Hmm… She may be of use to me before long…"

With the last Neoshadow slain, Marin puts her weapon away turns back toward the castle. Just a handful of feet ahead, she happens upon the barrier that sealed out all external life. Bringing her hand up, Marin gently presses her fingertips to the shield, causing a ripple-like reaction. "Nice 'Keep Out' sign.", she comments. "I wonder what it's protecting, or who put it up in the first place…"

'_Perhaps the one you seek lies hidden behind it…'_

"W-Who's…?"

'_On the other side of the barrier… She who caused your loved ones harm…'_

"R…Relena…?"

'_She mocks you… Mocks your power… She erected the barrier before you as a means to ridicule you whilst just out of your reach…'_

"…Yeah… That'd be…so like her…" As the voice in Marin's mind beguiles her with its words, a pale green light appears in her eyes.

'_Educate her… Prove to her that yours is a power that's not to be trifled with… Show her the dire consequences that come with toying with the lives of others…'_

"Right… I'll…show her…" At her side, Marin's fingers twitch, and she once again takes a hold of the Keyblade. She slowly brings it up and prepares to do away with the castle's barrier with its 'all-purpose key' properties.

'_Break the barrier… Break it, I say…!'_

"Break…the barrier-"

'_**No! Don't do it!**__'_

"!" The glint of green vanishes from Marin's eyes, and she instantly comes to her senses. "W-What…? What was I…?"

"Blast it!", gripes Maleficent. "Accursed good fairies! Does their meddling know no limits? _Denizens of darkness, destroy her!_"

Marin spins around to the sight of an entire army of Heartless, much more than she was capable of challenging on her own. "Aw, jeez!"

Before the battle could ensue, however, a trio of lights - one red, one green, and one blue - descends upon the bridge and hover in a circle around Marin like fireflies. With a joint effort, the three lights release an immense amount of magical energy.

Marin shields her eyes from the intense brightness. "W-What's going on?"

As the light dies away, not a single Heartless remained. Only Marin and the three colorful lights floating around her were left standing. While the Keyblade wielder tries to piece together what she just witnessed, a group of voices addresses her.

'_Quickly, dear! Through the barrier!'_

'_We've opened the way inside for you!'_

'_Hurry! Before Maleficent returns!'_

"Uh… O-Okay…!" Still unable to think straight, Marin simply does as she's told for now and steps inside the barrier, passing through the magical wall with ease.

Maleficent fires upon the barrier with a stream of emerald flames, but its physical integrity was restored before she could penetrate it. As her anger comes to a boil, she screams to the sky while her bungling soldiers cower in terror.

…Through the castle entrance, Marin stumbles into the audience chamber, short of breath.

"You all right, little miss?"

Bringing her head up, Marin sees three kind-looking ladies, each wearing a particular color and grasping a magic wand, standing before her. The lady in red extends a warm hand to help Marin to her feet. "There you are, dearie. You'll be alright now. You're safe and amongst friends."

"Uh, thanks. What happened back there?"

"It was that ol' hoptoad Maleficent!", says the lady in blue. "She used her magic on you to try and lower the barrier we've put into place around the castle."

"But you broke her hold over me _and_ got rid of the Heartless, right? Guess I should say 'thank you' for that too."

"Right now…", the lady in green starts. "…that barrier is the only thing keeping Maleficent from storming the castle and seizing our beloved Princess Aurora's heart."

Aurora. There was that name again, Marin thought. "Well, that's good, isn't it? As long as the barrier holds, Aurora's safe, right?"

The three petite ladies lower their heads in unease. "It's…not as simple as that, I'm afraid.", the lady in red explains. "It may only hold for as long as we can maintain it with our magic. And our magic has very nearly run out."

"We're…so very tired…", says the lady in green through her yawns.

"You poor things…"

At that moment, a voice calls out from the other end of the audience chamber. "Oh, Flora. Fauna. Merryweather."

Looking ahead, Marin sees two more residents of this world approaching. The first was a fair-skinned maiden of 17 with long golden hair and red rosy lips. She wore a long-sleeved dress of royal blue and azure that reached down to her feet, a gold necklace, and a gold tiara. The second was a young man of 24 with wavy brown hair and black eyes. He wore a gray tunic over a black long-sleeved shirt, dark gray pants, black knee-high boots, and a long red cape.

Upon entrance, the man takes notice of Marin's presence. "An escapee of Maleficent's wicked reach, I presume?"

"You presume correctly, Prince Phillip.", the lady in blue replies. "Had we not intervened, she'd have surely fallen victim to her evil ways."

The blonde maiden steps up to convey her sympathies. "You're not of this kingdom, are you? My sincerest apologies for the upsetting reception. I'm pleased to see you're unharmed."

"Uh…" Marin could feel her face becoming warm. Even from a woman's point of view such as hers, the maiden's beauty was breathtaking.

"Hahaha. At a loss for words, child?", the little lady in blue teases.

"Oh!" The redhead blushes deeply and rubs the back of her head in embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare. I was just so overcome by how pretty you are. I have to admit, I'm a little jealous. Hehehe."

The two other wand-wielding ladies have themselves a short laugh as well. "May I present…", starts the lady in green again. "…the pride and joy of our kingdom - Princess Aurora and her beloved husband Prince Phillip."

"And we…", continues the lady in red. "…are the good fairies. I am Flora, and this is Fauna and Merryweather."

"Heh. It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm Marin." The smile on Marin's face is quickly replaced by a look of fright when the castle's foundation is harshly shaken. "W-What was that?"

"It's Maleficent.", says Phillip, as if there were any mystery. "It would seem that she's doubled her efforts in gaining entry into the castle."

"Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, how are you faring?", Aurora asks, concerned about her parental figures' health.

Fauna simply smiles tenderly at Aurora. "Oh, don't you fret none, my dear. We'll be just fine."

"Yes, we'll be perfectly fine.", reassures Flora. "But with our magic reserves as low as they are, I fear Maleficent will breach the castle walls within the hour."

"Why does she want Aurora's heart so bad?", Marin inquires. "What makes hers so special?"

"Aurora's heart is one of seven hearts of pure light, utterly devoid of darkness…", Merryweather explains. "When brought together, they open the door to the most powerful force in the universe. Maleficent seeks to use this power to rule over all worlds. And your power, child - the power of the Keyblade - is crucial to unlocking those hearts."

"Which explains why I was almost made into her puppet. Perfect."

"Maleficent must not… obtain Aurora's heart… If she does… The kingdom… Everything…will fall…" Exhaustion getting the better of her, Flora collapses onto the chamber floor.

"Flora!"

Marin rushes to Flora's side and picks her head up. "Miss Flora!"

The fairy in red speaks through her heavy breaths. "I'll be…alright… I just…need a moment to rest…"

With Flora's collapse, the barrier suffers a loss of integrity, and the tremors increase in strength and frequency.

"Oh, dear! What are we to do?" Fauna was so beside herself with worry, she was liable to faint.

"…Let me help."

All eyes in the chamber turn to Marin.

After setting Flora down, she rises to her feet. "Maleficent seeks seven pure hearts. And the only way to get at them is with a Keyblade master. That makes her my enemy just as much as yours. Flora and the others helped me out back there. I wanna return the favor. …Leave Maleficent to me."

"…"

…Meanwhile, at the other end of the bridge, Maleficent and her soldiers notice the red shimmer in the barrier vanish, leaving behind only shimmers of blue and green. As a result, 'cracks' in the barrier appear in greater quantity, allowing for more Heartless to slip through at a time. "Flora has fallen.", Maleficent states. "The barrier's grown weaker…and yet I'm still not strong enough to break through it completely…! Such a disgrace I've been forced to endure this past year…! I must recover all of my power again if I am to rule from on high…!"

"_Let me guess… You need a little help on that front too…?_"

"Who dares…?" Maleficent looks around for the source of the voice, but sees nothing foreign in her immediate vicinity. "Show yourself to me!"

"_Settle down there, 'Miss Hocus-Pocus', before you pop a blood vessel…_"

The angry witch glances about for a few more seconds until her eyes happen upon an entity with short blonde hair standing just a couple of feet behind her. "!" Maleficent jumps away out of shock. "You! Have you naught else to do but hound me?"

"You know…", Relena starts, planting her palms on her hips. "For someone who wouldn't have legions of Heartless at her disposal if not for me, you don't sound very thrilled to see me. What happened to, 'O great and powerful Relena, how may I serve thee today'?"

Maleficent strikes the ground with the base of her staff. "Were I in your shoes, I'd watch my tongue, wench!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Relena looks up at the barrier. "Looks like you're having a bit of barrier trouble there.", she says with a short chuckle. "And from the looks of it, you're not doing too hot yourself. What's the matter? Peeved 'cuz a bunch of fairies are making you look bad?"

"How dare you condescend me! Have you any inkling of whom it is you stand in the presence of?"

"Oh, I have an 'inkling'. I know for a fact that a couple Keyblade-wielding tater tots showed you up last year, and now you're scrambling to get back to 100% so you can go and rule the universe. Well, I got news for ya, 'Dragon Breath': Ain't happening. Not as you are now."

With a wave of her staff, Maleficent engulfs Relena in green fire. "What would you know of my quandary, harridan? You're but a vixen with a penchant for irritation!"

"…_With vocabulary like that, it's no wonder you're still single…_"

Looking back, Maleficent finds Relena at her rear once more. "H-How in blazes did you…?"

"Since you're obviously not my biggest fan, I'll make this quick. You wanna be strong enough to break through this barrier and seize the princess's heart? I can make that happen."

"Is that so…? Just like you granted me control over the Heartless…?"

"Control over the Heartless was a freebie. The power I can give you - _that's_ gonna cost you."

"…Explain."

"You know that cute little redhead you chased off before? She and I have some history together. Do _not_ kill her. I could care less about everyone else in that castle, but the girl with the Keyblade is _mine_."

"Hold! I require the Keyblade's power to unlock the princess's heart!"

"Not my problem. I told you my price; it's up to you if you're willing to pay it."

"…"

"Better decide quick, 'Horns', 'cuz this offer's got a half-life of about five seconds."

"…Charlatan…!"

"Save the sweet talk. Three seconds."

"Tch! Very well! I shall abide by your terms!"

"…Good girl." Raising up her hand, Relena snaps her fingers…

…causing a bolt of lightning to drop down from the sky and onto Maleficent. Electricity courses all through her, and she lets out another ear-piercing scream.

As the electric discharge of gold blends with Maleficent's signature green fire, Relena watches in spiteful delight.

…Back in the audience chamber, Prince Phillip, ready to defend the castle by Marin's side, arms himself with a silver shield and a sword that's been blessed by Fauna and Merryweather's magic. "You're certain you wish to do this?", asks the battle-ready prince. "Maleficent is the kingdom's concern, not yours."

"I'm not doing this because I _have_ to.", Marin answers. "Maleficent made this personal when she tried using my memories against me. She wants a Keyblade master, she's gonna get one."

Fauna smiles warmly at Marin's sense of righteousness. "Such a pure heart you have, miss. You remind me so much of that boy…"

"Boy? What boy?"

"Hahaha. Never you mind. Just the ramblings of a fairy beyond her years."

With yet another tremor - the most violent one thus far - the barrier around the castle gives way and shatters like intangible glass.

Fauna and Merryweather detect this almost instantly. "Oh, no! It's gone! But…how?"

"Look!"

Through the open castle entrance, the group sees a massive horde of Heartless charging over the bridge and toward them.

"Leave them to us!", Marin says confidently. "Fauna, Merryweather, shut the doors behind us once we're outside! And no matter what happens, don't open them! C'mon, Prince!"

"After you!"

Without another moment's hesitation, the two thrust themselves into battle, making their way up the bridge to confront the Heartless.

By way of the fairies' magic, the drawbridge is then raised, shutting out all would-be invaders.

Aurora clasps her hands together, wishing Marin and her beloved Phillip success.

Marin ceases her running once the Heartless are just a kilometer away and readies the Deepest Blue. She holds it out horizontally in front of her and presses her free palm to the blade. Then, leaping a short distance off the ground, she points it upward and cries, "_**Magic Hour!**_"

A collection of pillars of light strike down from above, wiping out a sizable portion of the army in the blink of an eye.

Prince Phillip could only watch in amazement. "Extraordinary…", he remarks.

"No time to be impressed, Prince! We've still got work to do!"

"Ah! Yes, of course!"

As Marin and Phillip's battle rages outside, another battle - albeit smaller in scale - rages inside the castle. At the far end of the audience chamber, near the king and queen's thrones, Fauna and Merryweather fend off small Heartless groups that have managed to slip inside while protecting Princess Aurora. Streams of blue and green glitter decorate the air, as with each wave of their wands, the swarm's numbers diminish. "Come all you like, foul beasts!", Merryweather shouts. "You'll not touch one hair on our fair Aurora's head!"

As if in direct defiance of the blue fairy's conviction, a Neoshadow crawls along the chamber's walls and ceiling until perfectly aligned with Aurora below. It pushes away from the ceiling and nose-dives at her.

"Aurora!"

Just then, a stream of red glitter strikes the Neoshadow with flawless precision and teleports it elsewhere. Glancing straight ahead of them, Fauna and Merryweather discover their red-garbed fairy sister on her feet again. "Flora!"

"Goodness gracious, you two look like you're having fun. Might I partake?"

…The final Heartless falls to Marin's blade, and the bridge is reclaimed in the name of Aurora's kingdom. Refusing to rest for even a minute, the red-haired girl calls out, "MALEFICENT!"

A stillness befalls on the battlefield, and only the sound of heel against stone could be heard.

Marin and Phillip look to the one end of the bridge and see a figure draped entirely in black draw near.

The almighty sorceress grasps her staff with both hands and looks upon the two with contempt. "I must commend you, Key bearer.", she starts. "Not a day since you've arrived, and already you've become quite the thorn in my side."

"I might say the same about you, old hag. If you think I'm gonna let you control me again like before-"

"Oh, perish the thought, my child. As much as I would take delight in appropriating that glorious power of yours, I'm under strict orders not to."

"Orders by who?"

"A sympathizer of sorts. A rather…ill-mannered sympathizer. Nonetheless, it was through this 'advocate' that my powers were returned to me - and then some. Enough for me to dispose of that accursed barrier and command hundreds of Heartless as I see fit."

"'Ill-mannered', huh? Sounds like someone I know…"

"And yet…it's strange… Regardless of the explicit instructions I was told, I find myself feeling somewhat…_rebellious_."

"What…?"

A fiery green aura begins to build around Maleficent's body. "The nerve of that little shrew, telling me who I may or may not kill…! I am Maleficent…! The mistress of all evil! Any and all arrogance directed at me shall suffer the wrath of Hell!" As the flames consume her and grow to the stature of an entire wall, Maleficent assumes a new form. Through the furious blaze, the first thing to emerge is a large black claw that trembles the earth as it slams down. Next appears the snout of something monstrous in nature. It bares razor-sharp teeth and exhales puffs of smoke. A force from within the flames blows outward, extinguishing them completely.

Marin and Phillip go wide-eyed at the sight of a dragon with black and crimson-red scales, _four_ wings, and _**two**_ heads. "Oh, man…!", mutters an otherwise speechless Marin.

The two-headed dragon starts out by breathing twin streams of green fire upon its enemies.

"Scatter!", Marin shouts, signaling for her and Phillip to spread out. Marin bears right; Phillip heads left.

As the dragon's breath of fire dies down, Marin leaps up to hammer into the left head's side with the Deepest Blue. While this prompts no reaction from it initially, it soon turns to face Marin and snaps its jaws at her. Its teeth catch the tip of the Keyblade, and - with Marin's habit of holding on - it hurls her back onto the bridge.

"Oof!" Marin falls back and skids a short distance along the ground before picking herself up to attack again.

To the dragon's other side, Phillip wards off the second head's teeth with his shield, occasionally swinging at it with his sword. Bringing up its front right leg, it swats Phillip with the back of its claw. As Phillip goes down, the dragon brings that same leg up again and prepares to crush the prince beneath the weight of its claw. At the last possible second, Phillip rolls out of the way of the attack, springs to his feet, and slices into the beast's leg with the sword.

The dragon briefly recoils in pain and lets loose another breath of fire, which Phillip defends against with the shield.

As the black beast focuses on the prince, Marin sprints forward and slides between its legs to its underbelly, taking shots at its abdomen with a barrage of Fire. This yields a pained reaction out of the dragon as well, as it retaliates by swinging its massive tail at her. With a nimble evade, Marin clutches onto its tail, and - during its upward arc - jumps onto the dragon's back. "Hah! Just try and get at me from here!", the redhead boasts.

In response, the dragon flaps its two sets of wings and takes to the skies…

…forcing Marin to hang on for dear life. "Me and my big mouth!"

The flying beast performs a series of rapid spiraling maneuvers in an effort to shake the girl off, but her grip was too firm.

"Argh…!" As her left hand tightly clutches the dragon's scales, Marin brandishes the Keyblade with her right and… "Take…_this_!" …severs one of its wings.

With the loss in balance this creates, the dragon plummets toward the ground, shrieking in agony all the while. It crashes harshly onto the bridge belly-up.

A winded Marin stands atop the felled monster. "I…_hate_…_**heights**_!", she roars, poised to pierce the dragon's heart with the Keyblade.

Not one to be finished off so easily, however, the dragon swipes at Marin's weapon, knocking it out of her hand.

"Ah!"

Then, in a single fluid movement, it drives its palm into her body and rolls over onto its legs.

Marin now had her back to the ground with the beast's claw pinning her down. "Agh!" The girl grasps at its talons to try and pry them off her, but with its claw positioned as it was, her oxygen pathway was being obstructed.

But from the looks of things, she wouldn't be suffocating for much longer, as the monster on top of her was making ready to roast her. It brings its twin heads back, opens wide…

"!"

…and roars in agony yet again.

At the dragon's left side, Phillip is seen, having thrust his sword into its flesh.

Likewise, Marin retrieves the Keyblade with a flash of light and jabs it into the claw that had her pinned.

As the dragon roars a third time, it leans back on its hind legs, freeing Marin.

Returning to her feet, Marin takes a moment to catch her breath, but not terribly long a moment, as her window of opportunity was short. Pointing the Keyblade forward, she gathers energy to its tip. The energy swirls with all seven colors of the rainbow and in a little sphere of light. Once a sufficient amount was collected… "_**Ragnarok!**_" …she unleashes it all at once in a burst of laser fire.

The beams of light bombard the dragon from all possible directions, hitting at its heads, torso, wings, and legs. They strike with such velocity and frequency that the beast is kept standing on its hind legs for a few seconds longer.

"Phillip! Your sword!", she suddenly beckons.

"As you wish!", Phillip calls back, flinging his sword to her.

Marin catches the weapon by its handle and turns back to the howling monstrosity. "It ends here, Maleficent!" With a bountiful leap, Marin drives her Keyblade and Phillip's blessed sword into the dragon's chest, coinciding with the wearing off of Ragnarok.

The beast reels back from the hit, stricken numb from the sudden influx of good magic. It cries in anguish once more, as green flames and black mist enshroud it. The veil of fire and vapor soon fades, leaving only a weakened Maleficent in her human form. Clenching her staff, she struggles to stay on her feet. "C-Curse you, Relena…! I should've…never listened to you…!" Before she could retreat, Maleficent finds herself staring down the wrong end of a Keyblade.

"You said 'Relena'.", the red-haired Keyblade master begins. "What did she tell you? Where is she now?"

"Closer…than you imagine…"

Realizing what she meant, Marin spins to her rear and discovers Relena a couple yards away.

"How's it goin', 'Red'?", the blonde of darkness greets.

"Relena!", Marin growls through her teeth.

"Wench!", enters Maleficent. "You knew all along, didn't you? Even with my power returned to me in full, you knew the Keyblade girl would still emerge victorious, didn't you?"

"Guilty.", Relena confesses. "You see, unlike you, 'Horns', 'Red' here's got a good head on her shoulders. I know what she's capable of. She plays the light like a harp. And it's _beautiful_. You? You play the darkness like you're tone-deaf."

"H-How dare you…!"

"Oh, and Marin?"

"Huh?"

"…I'll be sure to tell the munchkins you said 'hello'."

"!"

A Corridor of Darkness opens up behind Relena. "Well, wish I could stay, but it's been time and a half. And don't worry, kiddies. Plenty of more fun to be had before the game is over. Ta-ta!" Leaving the group with an echoing laugh, she steps into the portal and departs.

"No! Relena, you leave them out of this! …Argh!" Unable to do anything about the blonde sadist for the time being, Marin continues with Maleficent. "You were a fool to bargain with her. The only deals Relena makes are ones where she comes out on top."

Still fairly weak from the battle, Maleficent stumbles through her words. "I…_will_ be ruler…of all that exists…! And you… That golden-haired shrew… This entire abhorrent kingdom… You will all _bow_ to me…!" Saying nothing else, the evil sorceress vanishes in a swirl of green fire.

Marin pays the defeated witch's words no mind and heaves a sigh. "…You keep telling yourself that…"

…Marin and Phillip join Princess Aurora and the good fairies in the audience chamber. "…Must you leave right away, dearie?", asks a saddened Fauna to Marin.

"Mm-hmm.", the redhead replies. "Relena's gone after my friend and little brother. I have to find them before she does. …I'm sorry."

"Oh, no apologies necessary, child. In fact, we should be thanking you."

"If not for you, our precious Aurora's heart would've certainly been taken."

With a shrug, Marin says, "I just did what came naturally. I should at least take responsibility for Relena though. It's because of her that the Heartless are here to begin with."

"No matter the circumstances…", says Aurora. "…our meeting today was no coincidence. And it's because of your selfless actions that my castle still stands. On behalf of the entire kingdom, Lady Marin… I thank you."

Marin could feel her face becoming hot again. "Hehehe… Don't mention it."

With an exchange of goodbyes, Marin takes her leave. She finds herself deep in thought as she makes her way back to the _Nautilus_. 'Phillip and Aurora… Hmm… I hope to find a prince of my own someday…'


	5. Report 5: What Makes a Hero

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts is a trademark of Square-Enix and Disney. Any similarities between this and other works submitted are purely coincidental.

* * *

_To look beyond the glory is the hardest part… For a hero's strength is measured by his heart…_

_**Kingdom Hearts ~another side~**_

**~ Report 5: What Makes a Hero ~**

On the radiant coliseum grounds, an orange-haired youth, armed with a short sword and shield, practices his swordsmanship on a pair of wooden dummies, one in front of him and one behind. Each dummy has a number of spring-loaded slats mounted on it to simulate human limbs, and rotates on a 360-degree axis relative to the boy's actions. Every few seconds or so, his attention shifts from one dummy to the other, never lowering his guard to either one.

Off to the side, a man of even shorter stature than the boy - a half man, half goat - barks at him. "Good hustle, kid!", he supports. "Hit and move, just like in basics!"

The teenager on the field focuses on training as the sweat trickles from his brow. "Hah! Hyah! Toh!"

"_Hey, kid!_"

"Huh?" As the boy temporarily looks to his coach in the stands, a dummy slat strikes the back of his head… "Ow!" …and a second slat sweeps at the back of his knees, knocking him off his feet. He lands face-up in the dirt with a thud. "Oof!"

"Oy…" The half-goat trainer shakes his head in disappointment. "C'mon, kid, what do I keep tellin' ya? Rule #80!"

"'Never take your eyes off your opponent.' Got it. Sorry, Phil."

The trainer known as Phil sighs. "Alright. Let's take five, Herc. I gotta straighten the place up for the Games anyhow. Hit the showers, and we'll pick up again in a bit."

The boy named 'Herc' promptly hops to his feet and runs off to, as Phil put it, 'hit the showers', while Phil himself wheels the dummies away into storage. As the two go about their business, an entity wrapped in black robe and blue flame watches from a distance. "Another day, another feeble excuse for a competition…", groans the entity, continuing to ramble like this as he walks away. "Seriously, that Phil's turnin' into a real one-trick goat. That he still manages to find work these days is nothin' short of miraculous. And look at _me_ - Mr. King-of-All-That-Doesn't-Live reduced to plotting the downfall of a half-mortal brat. Mental note - never send minions to do a god's job. Hmm… Maybe I can use the upcoming Games to my advantage. Looks like 'Philly' is really puttin' the screws to 'hero boy'. The kid won't have even a second to take a breather. All's I gotta do is off 'Herc the Jerk' while he's fightin' fatigue, and everything else'll fall into place for me like a line of dominoes. Zeus and Hera will cry, the mortal 'rents will snivel - hey, even the goat man might shed a tear or two - and I'll be free to waltz right in the front door and snatch the big cushy chair out from under 'em. Ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom. Now, the million-drachma question is: which critter do I pull outta my hat this time? …Heh. I know just the freak for the job."

…Elsewhere, some distance outside the coliseum grounds, Ciel appears on the outskirts of town, having landed the _NORA_ just minutes earlier. His new surroundings seemed, in a word, archaic. But compared to home in Aubade Town, they were far more densely populated. Within twenty minutes of arriving, the teal-haired kid finds himself on the front steps of the Olympus Coliseum.

Ciel could only look up at the magnificence of the building: the decorative pillars that lined its entrance, the massive bronze statues that crossed swords, the aged feel of the atmosphere that came from generations of competitions and champions. "Wow… So cool…! …Huh?"

Momentarily fascinated by the view, Ciel fails to notice the horde of Heartless crowding around him. "Here too?" He instinctively draws the Pierce the Skies, and immediately goes to work.

After a few minutes, the horde's numbers are whittled down to a little over 50%, but Ciel already begins to show signs of exhaustion. He wasn't accustomed to combating the Heartless solo. "This is gonna take forever…!"

"Need some help?", a voice from behind calls out.

Ciel is suddenly joined by the boy from earlier - 'Herc'. An Olympus Coliseum local, no doubt. Facing the Heartless again, he addresses the kid at his side. "Think you can keep up?"

"Hmph! Just watch me!"

A joining of forces is thusly forged, as the Keyblade wielder and the toga-wearing teenager team up against the Heartless. Soldiers and Air Soldiers fall to both sword and fist, and within half the time it took Ciel to destroy a little under half their numbers, the Heartless are utterly decimated.

Once the black dust settles, Ciel and 'Herc' share a celebratory high-five. "Thanks for the help.", says Ciel, expressing gratitude.

"No worries.", 'Herc' replies. "You were amazing just now."

"You weren't half-bad yourself. Never seen anyone fight Heartless bare-handed before."

"Heh. Yeah, I'm…_special_ that way. I'm Hercules. You can call me Herc."

"Ciel. Nice to meet ya."

"Are you competing in the Games, Ciel?"

"'Games'?"

"If he is, he'd better watch out for _this_ contender.", boasts a third voice from aside.

Ciel and Hercules turn their respective attentions southward and see a grown man looking to be in his late 20s walking up. He had long, slick black hair that hung slightly over the right side of his face, and wore a white T-shirt, a blue jacket with rolled-up sleeves, brown cargo pants, black boots, and black fingerless gloves. He motions a casual salute as he approaches. "Yo!"

The man had an air about him that reminds Ciel of Relena. "Uh… Hi."

"Hmm… You look a little young to be competing.", the man observes.

"Competing? I'm not-"

"You all done makin' buddy-buddy with each other over 'ere?"

"Hmm?" Looking over and down, Ciel sees Phil standing right next to him. The satyr's sudden appearance drags a reaction of surprise out of the boy. "Whoa! Where'd this guy come from?"

"Hey, chief!", barks Phil to the black-haired man. "You enterin'?"

"You know it!", the man replies, pumping his fist in excitement. "That trophy's all mine!"

"Yeah, we'll see. Prelims start in a bit. Sign up, then suit up."

"Yessir!" With that, the black-haired man heads for the coliseum lobby, but not before having a passing word with young Ciel. "Name's Laguna. Hope to see ya in the finals, kid…that is, if you can last that long."

"…"

With Laguna's exit, Phil turns to Ciel. "And you? What's your story, 'bright eyes'?"

"M-Me?"

"Yeah, you. You signin' up for the Games, or ain't ya?"

"Uh, I'm not really here to play games."

"Hah! 'Play games', he says! This here's the Coliseum, short-stuff. Heroes come from all over to fight big, bad beasties to prove they're the best of the best. And if you ain't the best, then you get _pressed_. Capisce?"

"So it's a tournament."

"…Sure, if you wanna be all cut-and-dry about it. Okay, so you're not here for the Games; what _ARE_ you here for? …Oh, wait, don't tell me! You want me to train you to be a hero! Well, forget it! I'm a one-student goat!"

"I-I'm not here for hero training either! …Heh. Besides, I'm kinda already a hero where I come from."

"Ohhhh, is that so? Aren't we the big shot? Well then, tell me, Mr. 'Kinda Already a Hero': You ever averted a natural disaster?"

"Well, I…"

"_Rescued a damsel-in-distress?_"

"Uh…"

"_**Saved a city from bloodthirsty monsters?**_"

"…Well, I've saved a whole world. On more than one occasion."

"Hahahaha! Yeah, I bet you have! You - a puny little _greenhorn_ - saved an entire world! That's rich!"

"It's true! I've fought hundreds of-!"

"Take a hike, shrimp! I ain't got time for hero wannabes like you! But hey! You ever wanna sign up for the Games and make a fool out of yourself, you know where to find me! Hahahaha!"

As Phil walks away shrieking with laughter, Ciel is left trembling his fists and gnashing his teeth. "Why, that little…!"

"Don't let Phil get to you.", Hercules enters with. "That's just how he is. If you wanna prove him wrong, you could always enter the Games and win."

"HERC! _CRUNCHES!_ _**NOW!**_"

"R-Right! Be right there, Phil! …Good luck, Ciel."

Left by his lonesome again, Ciel thinks for a moment. He's faced with a situation similar to one he'd faced back in Wonderland. Still no sign of either Roche or Marin, but the green-haired teen would've liked nothing better than to wipe away Phil's cheeky smirk. And who knows? Maybe his friends were already competing. "Tch! I'll show that pudgy old goat who's a hero wannabe!" His objective set, Ciel breaks into a run toward the vestibule.

A short time later, after a bit of comical back and forth between Ciel and Phil, the 'greenhorn' manages to talk his way into the Games' preliminary rounds. He stands atop a dais of stone slabs with Keyblade in hand, eagerly waiting for the match to begin.

Near the entryway to the lobby stood Hercules and Phil, playing the role of spectators. "You'd better be worth this, kid!", shouts Phil. "I'd hate to have to call in a replacement competitor!"

"Hmph! Just you wait! I'll breeze through the prelims so fast, it'll make your horns spin!"

A small group of Heartless appears, indicating the start of Round 1.

"Let's go!", Ciel exclaims, charging into battle.

…Meanwhile, at the far end of the city, an area that observed almost no visitation by mortals, the entity with flesh of blue and hair of fire appears at the entrance of a grotto in a swirl of smoke. He steps forward and peers into the shadows. "Jeez Louise, get a load of this dump. Has this guy never heard of interior decorating? Ugh! Or a mop? Smells like rotten moussaka in here. I know dead people with better places than this. And I should know - I charge 'em rent. Oh! Oh, what is this? What'd I just step in? That'd better not be what I think it is! Good gods, I'm gonna need a Stygian scrub-down when this is over!" As he treks further into the grotto, the sound of loud snoring becomes apparent. He brings his thumb and index finger to his mouth and whistles. "Yo, 'Feta Breath'! Rise and shine! Up and at 'em! C'mon!"

As a thunderous yawn trembles the cave, a single eye - even larger than the flame-headed god - stares back from within the darkness, and a gravelly voice speaks. "HADES…?"

"No, it's your Auntie Echidna. Give us a kiss, sweetums. …Of course it's me, you dingbat!"

The ogre in the shadows lets out a second yawn in Hades' general direction. The force behind it blows out Hades' fiery hair.

"…" With a narrow brow, Hades lights his hair again by using his thumb as a matchstick. "Okay. Moving on. Listen up, my colossal _compadre_. I've got a little job for ya…"

"…_Hyaaaahhhh!_"

Some time afterward, Ciel finishes off the last of his Heartless opponents, taking a great leap into the air and bringing his weapon harshly down upon it. Cheers fill the stands, and the 'greenhorn' points his fist to the sky in victory. "Ha-ha!"

The cheering soon dies down, and Ciel joins Phil off the dais. "Heh. Not too shabby, kid. You're a regular 'mini-Herc'."

Planting his hands on his hips, Ciel brags, "Told ya I wasn't a wannabe. I'm just as much a hero as any of the guys you trained."

"Don't get cocky, 'pasture head'. Overconfidence is one of a hero's greatest weaknesses. That's Hero 101 right there. You may have cruised through so far, but up next is the final match."

"Who am I facing?"

"That would be _me_.", says a familiar voice from aside. Through the lobby entrance appears the black-haired man from before: Laguna. "Nice job making it to the finals, pipsqueak. Looks like I lost that bet."

"What bet?"

"Uh, n-not important. So, after this, it's on to the Games, huh? Best of luck to both of us then." Having said his part, Laguna heads onto the dais first.

Glancing around, Ciel discovers that someone was missing. "Where's Herc?"

"Running laps. A hero never stops training."

"You sure are working him to the bone, aren't you…?"

"Hey, two words - mind your own business! Herc's never gonna become a true hero if he slacks off. Now get goin'. The crowd's gettin' antsy."

"Sheesh, alright already." Turning his back on the grouchy goat, Ciel steps atop the dais once more and stares Laguna down.

Around the pillars that lined the four corners of the dais, a magical barrier is generated to keep the two combatants (and their destructive attacks) inside.

The man with slick black locks is seen now brandishing a machine gun. "Don't expect me to go easy on you just 'cuz you're a kid. When I fight, I fight to win."

"Same here.", Ciel states, drawing the Pierce the Skies.

Laguna's eyes go slightly wide with surprise and unease; it was the first time he'd ever seen a Keyblade. 'Ooh… Now _there's_ a scary-looking weapon… Makes _Old Reliable_ here look like a BB gun…' Just then, a twinge in his left leg. 'Oh, come on…! Not now…!' Almost instantly, he drops to one knee. "Agh…! T-There's that cramp again…!"

"WHAT?", bellows the Key bearer, nearly face-faulting. "A leg cramp? Are you serious?"

"Y-Yeah… Which is weird, considering you're neither a woman nor good-looking… So I guess today's disappointing for the both of us, huh, kid?"

"How lame…"

"Oh, don't worry… These people paid good money to see a fight, and they're gonna see one…", the gun-toting man assures, rising to his feet. "Okay, shake it off, shake it off… Whew! Alright, let's do this!"

Readying his weapon, Ciel bears a confident grin. "That's more like it!", he cries, shooting forth on the offensive.

Aiming his firearm forward, Laguna starts off with a steady rapid-fire barrage of bullets. Ciel veers right and dashes around to Laguna's left side. As soon as the gap is shortened, he lunges in to attack at close-range. Laguna absorbs Ciel's blade swings with his machine gun and counters with a short-range shotgun blast. This puts some distance between the two for Laguna to follow up with a grenade toss. Ciel slices clean through the explosive, causing it to go off prematurely. He cuts through the smoke with a Sonic Blade, but Laguna has vanished. Having used the smoke as cover to get airborne, Laguna aims down at Ciel with a missile launcher. He fires off a chain of missiles, and Ciel is forced to go on the move again. Each missile strikes the ground with a small explosion, following Ciel's footwork by just milliseconds. Once he was out of harm's way, he fires at Laguna with some projectiles of his own: a bombardment of Fire spells. Laguna counteracts the barrage by tossing a grenade that, once gone off, generates a spherical force field to absorb it. A couple of fireballs, however, manage to meander around the force field and strike Laguna, forcing him down to the ground. Substituting his machine gun for a rifle of some sort, the gun-toting man takes aim again - not at Ciel, but rather at the walls to his left and right. He proceeds to fire off a series of laser shots that bounce off the walls and ricochet in every possible direction. Unable to determine their trajectory, Ciel suffers continual harm from the lasers before they eventually recoil upward into the sky. The last remaining laser bounces off the wall behind Laguna and flies straight toward Ciel's front side. Throwing his palm out in front of him, Ciel halts the beam with a Stop spell. He then goes on to cut through the beam with his Keyblade, reducing it to particles of light. Ciel follows up on this by sprinting toward Laguna, throwing out another Stop as he does so, and swipes at Laguna's back. The gunner briefly staggers forward from the blow, but then lurches right back when Ciel delivers another Stop-assisted slash to his chest. He falls to his knees while the Keyblade wielder backs away to catch his breath. Laguna stands upright shortly and gives a look to Ciel that said 'no more fooling around'. Drawing yet another hand-grenade, he yanks the pin out with his teeth and tosses it onto the ground at Ciel's feet. Before the boy could react, Laguna leaps up, suspended from a grappling hook, and rains upon him with a furious hailstorm of gunfire. The Keyblade kid could only defend himself, as there was virtually zero wiggle room to launch a counterattack. About seven seconds in, Laguna lets up on the assault and lands with his back turned to Ciel. Finally able to lower his guard, Ciel looks to his feet and spots the grenade. Before he could do anything about it though, it detonates. By this time, the crowd was on the edge of its seats. And as the smoke clears, Ciel is seen on his hands and knees, with Laguna standing above him with a gun pointed at the kid's head.

It took all of Ciel's remaining stamina just to keep himself off the ground completely. He picks his head up to see the blurred image of Laguna and his firearm.

"Give up yet…?", the gunner asks through his smirk.

"Tch!" Unwilling to accept defeat, Ciel refuses to answer. He lowers his gaze and, out of the corner of his eye, spies his Pierce the Skies just a couple of feet away from his hand. If I can just reach the Keyblade, Ciel ponders. Little by little, his hand inches closer to the blade…

…But Laguna immediately picks up on this. The closer Ciel's hand moved toward the Keyblade, the tighter his finger curled around the trigger. "…"

"…"

Just then, gasps of shock and fright fill the stands as the earth trembles violently.

"W-What was that?", Ciel stammers.

"Hopefully not a last-minute entry…", Laguna remarks.

A second tremor shortly follows the first, and the crowd grows even more restless.

Hercules soon bursts in, his training session interrupted. "Phil!", he calls out to his trainer.

"Herc!", Phil calls back. "What in Gaia's name is goin' on?"

"The city!", the orange-haired lad starts through his winded breaths. "It's under…attack!"

"SAY WHAT?"

Hearing this, Ciel and Laguna look to each other. Suddenly, there were matters more pressing than their match.

The streets of Thebes were in absolute chaos. People run and scream for their lives as buildings crumble and fires indiscriminately rage. At the root of it all, an obese giant with one eye towered over the various Greek structures, ripping them away from their foundations and hurling them about with reckless abandon. "RUN!", the giant's voice booms. "RUN, PUNY HUMANS!"

Ciel, Hercules, Phil, and Laguna look upon the beast and the immense destruction it was causing. "What the heck is that thing?", asks the flabbergasted Ciel.

"The Cyclops.", Phil answers. "A doozy of a Titan. As strong as he is ugly."

"He's destroying everything!"

"_Tell me about it. Like a bouncing baby boy with his toy blocks, am I right?_"

To the party's side, Hades appears in his usual smoky fashion. "What's the haps, chaps?"

"Hades!", Hercules and Phil growl in unison.

"Who?", Ciel and Laguna likewise utter.

Disregarding 'toga boy' and the goat man for now, Hades focuses on the new guys. "Hey there. Name's Hades, Lord of the Dead. How ya doin'? Love the hair. Likin' the show so far?"

"'Show'?"

"So 'One-Eye' over there's your leading role, I take it?"

"Oh… Adorable, isn't he? Like a little baby with his- …Wait. Did I already use that metaphor? Ah, well. Still fresh."

"What's your game, Hades?", Hercules snaps. "Not satisfied with controlling people, so you're just gonna destroy everything in sight?"

"Ahhh, little Herc. Don't think I forgot about you. How ya holdin' up, champ? You're lookin' a little beat there. Arms sore? Throat dry? Heart beating out of your chest? That's too bad. And my optic pal was just _dying_ to meet ya. Real down-to-earth guy. I think you'd get along swell."

"Call off…your lapdog, Hades…!", Herc continues, still exhausted from his workout. "I'm…the one you want!"

"Tempting, but I'll pass. This is more fun. …Well, maybe not to them. But to me, it's a hoot. I'm Lord of the Dead, kid; gotta get my kicks where I can, y'know?"

"If you want Hercules…", Ciel starts. "…fight him yourself instead of sending giants to do your dirty work! You're nothing but a coward!"

"True.", Hades shrugs. "But when you got friends in high places like I do, who needs minor stuff like _rules_?" With that, Hades exits the only way he knows how: with hazy flair. "_Enjoy yourself, kids. I know I will._"

Hercules puts his thumb and index finger to his lips and lets out a high-pitched whistle.

In response, a blurry white figure swoops down from the sky. Only as it comes in for a landing and trots alongside Hercules does it come into full view: a majestic white horse with a sky-blue Mohawk-like mane, blue tail, and great light-blue-tipped wings. It whinnies softly as it arrives.

Laguna whistles impressed at the sight of the creature. "Nice ride…"

"Hey, Pegasus…", Herc greets weakly. "You ready?"

Pegasus neighs eagerly in reply.

The teen positions himself to mount his steed, but nearly stumbles while doing so.

Luckily, Ciel and Phil were there to catch him. "Whoa! Easy, Herc! What are you trying to do?"

"Hades is…destroying the city because of me… I have to…do something…!"

"You ain't gotta do nothin', Herc! Hades is just baitin' ya!"

"Listen to your teacher, kid.", Laguna chimes in. "Head out there and you'll be playing right into Hades' hands."

"All the more reason…for me to fight…! Now…get your hands off me!" Tired but far from frail, Hercules wrestles himself free of Ciel and Phil's grip, jumps onto Pegasus' back, and takes off to confront the Cyclops.

"Herc, wait!" Ciel's cry would fall on deaf ears. "We can't let him fight alone!"

"And we won't.", says Laguna, stepping forward with his trusty machine gun. "Cyclops is gonna pay for cutting my win short."

"_Your_ win?" Ciel also steps forward, brandishing the Keyblade. "Hah. In your dreams."

"Rematch when all's said and done?"

"You're on!"

Down the coliseum steps and through the bedlam-ridden streets, Ciel and Laguna go to challenge the Cyclops as well…

…while Phil is left behind to challenge an impending ulcer. "Ugh… I'm gettin' to be too old for this."

Meanwhile, near the center of the city, Hercules and Pegasus soar about the Cyclops' airspace in an effort to disorient him. During this, Cyclops attempts to swat the two as if he were swatting a mosquito. "GRAH! ME SQUISH FLYING HORSE LIKE BUG!"

Pegasus manages to dodge the Cyclops' swings long enough for Hercules to ready himself. As the winged horse circles around to the back of the Titan's head, the boy shoots off of the horse's back and dives down with balled-up fists.

But before his punch could make contact, Cyclops brings his arm up and smacks Hercules away with the back of his hand.

The boy flies helplessly into a marble wall and crashes to the ground below, taking the wall with him. His pained groans could be heard underneath the rubble.

"Just stay down, Herc!", Ciel directs as he runs past. "Leave this to us!"

Upon reaching the outer city square, the Cyclops comes into full view. Ciel was barely as tall as the goliath's ankles. His inconceivable size caught the green-haired kid off-guard. "Whoa… It's even bigger up-close… Think we can really win this…?"

"Won't know 'til we try…", Laguna reassures. "…And those who don't try will never know!" Switching his machine gun out for a bazooka, Laguna promptly takes aim at the Cyclops' chest. "Hey, 'wide load'!"

Hearing a faint voice near its right foot, Cyclops glances down to see a solitary rocket soaring at him. He throws his hand out to intercept it, but it collides a moment too quick. "ARGH!"

During the giant's stupor, Ciel circles around to the back of his legs and leaps up to strike at the Cyclops' calf with a slicing gale. "_**Windcutter!**_"

The attack draws first blood, and the Cyclops staggers a step forward. "PESKY HUMANS!", he growls, lifting his leg up to crush the fighters underfoot.

Ciel and Laguna scamper along the ground, like the insects Cyclops sees them as, to dodge his quake-inducing stomps. As soon as there's a let up in his stomping fit, Ciel conjures a fierce gust of wind beneath Laguna's feet and propels him into the air.

Once airborne, Laguna readies an outlandish red cannon adorned with numerous spikes and what appeared to be a dragon's head around the barrel. "Open up and say 'ahhh', ugly!"

From the weapon's barrel, a great beam of energy is fired, engulfing the Cyclops in searing light.

"GRAAAHHH!" Unable to react rationally, the Cyclops settles for swinging its arms like mad, eventually swatting the airborne Laguna down.

"Aah!" The diminutive gunslinger plummets toward the ground - and almost certainly his doom - but at the last possible second, Ciel cushions his fall with a current of air. "Whew… Nice save, kid."

"Sure, but…how are we supposed to take this guy down? It looks like our attacks are hurting him a _little_, but we're not really doing anything substantial."

"Brute force…isn't gonna work…", groans latecomer Hercules.

"H-Herc?"

"It's like Phil always says… 'Rule #47… Every enemy has a weak spot'… Hit him there…and the rest of him will come crashing down from the force of his own weight…"

"Weak spot…", ponders Ciel, giving the towering Cyclops the once-over. "…I got it! Pegasus!"

Responding to the boy's cry, the winged horse swoops down to his side, prompting Ciel to climb onto its back.

"Take me up to his face!"

With an affirmative whinny, Pegasus pushes away from the ground and rockets upward.

"Think he knows what he's doing…?"

"Probably. On that note… _Incoming!_"

Hercules and Laguna scurry away to avoid more of the Cyclops' stomps.

High above the two, Ciel and Pegasus soar up and around the Titan's massive form until they're at shoulder level. At this juncture, Ciel takes aim with the Keyblade. His target: the Cyclops' one eye. "Gotta time this just right…!"

"…UHHH?" As misfortune would have it, however, the Cyclops catches a glimpse of the flying horse out of the corner of his eye. "GRAH! YOU AGAIN!"

"Uh-oh!"

With a harsh backhand, the Titan smacks Pegasus away and captures Ciel in his plump fingers. "HAHAHAHA! NOW I _CRUSH_ YOU!"

The Cyclops' grip on Ciel's body slowly tightens. "AAH!" His Keyblade-wielding arm pinned, Ciel was powerless.

"HAHAHA- OWW!" Just then, a sharp pain in the monster's left leg knocks him off-balance.

Far below, Laguna is seen cutting into the side of the Cyclops' leg with a blade of energy from his dragon-shaped cannon.

This loosens the Cyclops' grip enough for Ciel to wriggle his arm free and take aim again. From the blade's tip, he shoots off a single fireball.

"_**GRAAAAAHHHHH!**_" Cyclops covers his eye in throbbing agony, effectively freeing Ciel from his grip.

Hercules grabs a length of rope off a nearby bullock cart and tosses one end to Laguna. As the Cyclops lurches about in pain, the two bind his legs together with the rope and knot it tight. The loss in balance this creates causes the Cyclops to topple onto its knees, and its entire body falls over the side of a cliff. Its deafening scream echoes across the city.

Ciel, Hercules, and Laguna look over the cliff side and watch as the Cyclops falls to what is sure to be his death. None of them speak a word, simply finding solace in the battle's end.

Hades watches from afar, his scowl exhibiting only a fraction of his anger. "Well… Back to the drawing board, as they say…", he mutters to himself, vanishing in a cloud of black.

…The party regroups with Phil outside the coliseum. "I gotta hand it to you three.", the man-goat commends. "Takin' down the Cyclops? That was one for the record books."

Rather than accept the trainer of heroes' praise, Ciel folds his arms in resentment. "Y'know, it's kinda your fault Hades got involved in the first place, Phil. Herc wouldn't have taken that bad a beating if you didn't work him so hard."

Pocketing his hands, Laguna adds, "I gotta side with the runt on this one. Even half-mortals have their limits."

"Hey, if bein' a hero came easy, every schnook from here to Thrace would be struttin' his stuff! And when everyone's a hero, no one is! You think I got to be where I am if I didn't know what I was doin'?"

"I'm saying, go easy on him. If he weren't part god, the Cyclops would've killed him!"

"…" Phil turns to his student Hercules to get his two cents. "And how about you, champ? You agree with what these bozos are spewin'?"

The rookie hero finds himself tongue-tied. He wasn't one to go against Phil's teachings, but even he had to admit when he's had enough. "W-Well…"

His uncertainty was all Phil needed to hear. He turns away. "Alright, fine. I get it. I read ya loud and clear. …Don't bother showin' up for training tomorrow, kid…"

"P-Phil! You can't mean-!"

"…Go ahead and take the day off."

"Huh…?"

"What, you got souvlaki in your ears or somethin'? I'm givin' ya the day off. We'll pick up the day after."

"You… You mean it…? So you're not…? Ohhhh… What a relief."

"Phil!"

"Hey, come on. I'm not a slave-driver. I only push the kid 'cuz I know he can handle it. It's got nothin' to do with him bein' the son of Zeus. He's got somethin' I never seen before. Somethin' my other students didn't have."

"What's that?"

"…Heart. That's what separates the real heroes from the phonies. Not the size of his muscles, or how much he can bench-press. The strength of one's heart is what seals the deal."

"Wow, Phil…"

Turning back around, the pudgy goat looks up at Ciel. "To tell ya the truth… I see a bit of that in you too, Ciel."

"Hehehe…"

"Okay!", Laguna suddenly shouts. "Now that that's settled, I need to know, Phil: Which of us is moving on to the Games?"

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot about that!"

But with a shrug, a head shake, and a heavy heart, Phil says, "Sorry, fellas. Coliseum rules - if a fighter leaves the ring in the middle of a match, they're disqualified. And since you both left at the same time…"

"Awww, no way! What a gyp!"

"Still, we need someone to even up the brackets. Wanna flip for it?"

"…Nah. You take the spot, Ciel."

"Huh?" Ciel looks up at Laguna to ensure he was being serious. "Why me? I didn't even know about the Games before today. Besides, I thought you wanted to take home the gold, Laguna."

"Meh. There's always next time. We'll have our rematch then."

"Yeah!" Hercules jumps in. "Go for it, Ciel!"

"…Heh. Alright, I'll do it! I'll enter the Games and win it all! And when I win, Phil, you have to admit that I'm not a hero wannabe!"

The snarky satyr rolls his eyes. "…Yeah, that'll happen…"


	6. Report 6: His First Roar

Third chapter this month? Must be the Red Bull.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts is a trademark of Square-Enix and Disney. Any similarities between this and other works submitted are purely coincidental.

* * *

_Deceived by your own cold heart... A curse upon your house and all within it..._

_**Kingdom Hearts ~another side~**_

**~ Report 6: His First Roar ~**

A great castle, not unlike Princess Aurora's own, in old France. Lush, green woodland surrounds it on all sides. The center tower reaches toward the clouds. Different from Aurora's bright home, however, the atmosphere here was considerably dismal. As if the world were trapped in eternal night, no light source would bless the castle with illumination except for the crescent moon and a small handful of candles and lanterns.

It is within this bleak manor, in a parlor with a fireplace, that the other end of Roche's Corridor of Light finally opens. As the 13-year-old boy enters, the Corridor closes behind him like before. Within seconds, Roche is hit by a sudden chill that forces him to wrap himself in his own arms. "Ohhh! S-So cold!", Roche comments, jumping in front of the burning fire to warm himself up. "Great… Of all the Keyblades out there, I get the one with no sense of direction…", he continues while rubbing his palms together.

Once he was warmed up enough and adjusted to the castle's temperature to some degree, Roche goes on his way, leaving the comfort of the parlor and entering the entrance hall.

A lengthy red carpet extended from one end of the hall – the castle's front entrance – to the top of some stairs at the foot of a large green doorway. Two stairways branched out from that end of the carpet and led further up the castle's levels. One stairway led to the west, the other east. Two short rows of stone columns also lined the hall, each bearing a candelabrum of lit candles. Aside from these, the hall was entirely a dark shade of blue.

Roche exercises the utmost caution as he explores the interior of the castle. "I wonder who lives here… Prob'ly a king and queen or something…", he innocently speculates. "Hello…? Anybody home…?" At first, Roche's cry into the darkness would be met with the typical silence. But after several moments, a silhouette hurriedly scurries across a lit portion of the floor – a shape Roche knew all too well. He chases the silhouette into the shadows where it and a number of new faces reveal themselves to him. "Hmph!" In a flash of amber light, the Superquake appears in Roche's hand, and he's thrust into battle.

Meanwhile, on an upper level, a violent clamor fills the west wing with horrible sound. Objects break, vases shatter, fabrics are torn to shreds, and a sorrowful roar echoes. Inside a room at the far end of the wing, a hulking figure is seen darting about and destroying anything it could wrap its clawed fingers around, exhaling short growls and gasps while doing so. It throws armchairs against walls, rips up the window curtains, and the like. At some point during this, its eyes fall upon a lopsided painting on the wall.

The portrait was of a young man, copper hair reaching just below the shoulder line and eyes of intense azure.

The creature looks into the portrait as if looking into a mirror. It stares in sorrow, but that sorrow shortly degenerates into seething anger, and it reaches out to rip the portrait up.

Perhaps the only item in the room untouched by the creature's rampage was a bell jar sitting atop a small ornate stool. Inside the jar was a flower – a rose in full bloom – standing upright, almost appearing to float, and emitting a soft pink glow.

As its chambers lie in utter ruin, the creature shrinks away, hiding its face beneath its large, hairy hands like a turtle retreating into its shell.

"_The poor ill-fated prince… Reduced to a hideous shell of his former self… Only now does he realize the sheer consequences of his hubris… Blah-blah-blah._"

"Who's there…?", asks the creature in a deep, gravelly voice.

A few feet away from where it was sulking, a portal of bubbling black and purple appears, and Relena steps through. "…Hello, prince."

The creature rises to confront the trespasser, roaring mightily in her face. "Who are you? What are you doing in _my_ castle?"

"Hey, hey. No need for that. Inside voice."

"Leave here _now_!", says the beastly master of the castle, leaping up to pounce on the trespasser.

Exercising her mastery over the darkness, Relena makes herself intangible, allowing the prince's pounce to pass through. "Slow your roll there, 'Princey'. I don't wanna have to get physical. You won't like me when I get physical."

The prince quickly turns back around to confront Relena up-close. "I won't say it again."

Then, as out of character as it was, Relena looks into the prince's eyes with a gaze of sympathy. "…Your eyes… They have such a sadness to them…"

"…"

Reaching out her hands, the Heartless woman takes the prince's hand into hers. "Tell me… How long ago was it…?"

"…It's been three days."

"We're exactly the same, you and me. Cursed to be different than those around us, forced to hide away in the cover of night, keeping our faces perpetually hidden for fear of being rejected. Being cast aside like trash. Being labeled…a demon."

"…" The beastly prince falls silent. It had been too long since he felt the warmth of another. He closes his eyes and simply lets Relena stroke his hand.

As the moonlight shines through the balcony window and sets the room aglow, a piece of shade conceals Relena's face…

…and her conniving grin.

Back in the entrance hall, the last of the Heartless falls to Roche's Keyblade, and he's able to rest for a moment. It's during this silent pause that a sound directly above him makes itself known: a succession of faint thuds, like sluggish footsteps. Roche's investigative impulses take over, and he hurries up the stairs toward the west wing.

The first thing Roche is greeted by as he enters the upper level is parallel rows of axe-wielding suits of armor and even more red carpeting. As he comes to a right turn, he stops upon hearing the same slow-paced footsteps he heard while downstairs and ducks behind the corner. He leans forward to sneak a peek.

Much to the boy's surprise, the footsteps belong to a foursome of walking household items: a candelabrum, a clock, a teapot, and a teacup.

"Argh! Confound this burdensome form!", the living clock grumbles. "I mean, really now! Four legs? I feel a newborn learning how to walk!"

Even more to Roche's surprise, the housewares were capable of speech. 'Whoa…', he marvels under his breath.

"Here's a wild idea…", the candelabrum starts. "…But have you tried moving two at a time, my tightly wound friend?"

Standing as stably as it could, the walking, talking clock finds it's able to walk straight by doing as its one-legged companion suggests. "Hmm. Yes, well… I might've thought of that were I so inclined."

"But of course.", says the candelabrum, indulging the egotistical clock.

The little teacup innocently chuckles at this.

Here, the gentle-toned teapot chimes in. "The enchantress's spell has made it hard on everyone, Cogsworth, especially the master. Lately, it's become a bother just to convince him to leave his chambers. All he does is stare intently at that rose. Such a miserable sight."

"_Oui_.", the candelabrum adds. "It pains me to see him like this."

Enchantress? Spell? Rose? The situation in this world was apparently of greater scale than Roche had imagined. Having had his fill of spying, he prepares to move on, but as he moves away from the corner, the boy backs into a suit of armor, causing it to tilt. 'Uh-oh!' The armor tilts away for a moment, then tilts back toward Roche at a steeper slope until… "Aah!" …gravity does the rest.

The loud clatter around the corner catches the attention of the walking housewares. "What in the world?", the clock panics.

The four hurry over to find a dazed teenage boy wearing a knight's close helm. They could only stand there in bewilderment.

Roche lifts up the visor and gives a look of childlike embarrassment. "Hehehe… Hi."

Upon the armor's reassembly, greetings are exchanged amongst the group. The smooth-talking candelabrum introduces himself as Lumiere, the cranky clock as Cogsworth, the kindly teapot as Mrs. Potts, and the cheerful teacup as Chip. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, _mon ami_.", Lumiere says. "Welcome to our humble abode."

"Were it only under different circumstances than this…", adds Mrs. Potts.

"Oh! How can you all be so casual?", interjects Cogsworth. "Need I remind you that the master doesn't tolerate uninvited guests? He'll dismantle us all if he finds out!"

"Who _is_ this master of yours anyway?", Roche inquires. "On top of that, how are you all alive?" Kneeling down, he picks up little Chip. "Is it 'cuz of that spell you were talking about just now?"

"Uh-huh. The enchantress' spell.", Chip answers. "A few nights ago, this poor old woman came to the castle and asked to come in out of the cold. But the master said no. Then she turned into a real pretty lady and cast a spell on the whole castle as punishment."

"While all of us, the master's servants, were turned into household wares…", Lumiere continues, "…the master himself was turned into a monstrous beast."

"What's more…", the story continues with Mrs. Potts, "…the rose the enchantress had offered in return for shelter was truly an enchanted rose, which is to bloom until his 21st birthday. If within that time the master can learn to love and be loved in return, the spell will be broken. But should the last rose petal fall before he can do so…"

"…We shall remain like this forever.", Cogsworth concludes.

"Oh, wow…"

"Yeah!", Chip exclaims, hopping up and down in Roche's palm. "Not to mention we have those scary monsters to deal with now!"

"Yeah, the Heartless. I bet I know what's drawing them out." Upon setting Chip down at Mrs. Potts' side, Roche stands up. "How about I go talk to your master? I may not be able to help with his 'love and be loved' thing, but if I can get him to cheer up, it might prevent so many Heartless from showing up."

The boy lost the group at 'talk to your master'. Already, it was a fool's errand. "I'm not so sure that's such a good idea, my boy.", warns Lumiere. "The master is not the most gracious of hosts – even less so when he's rudely disturbed."

"Don't worry.", Roche assures with a wink. "I can be pretty convincing when I need to be." With that, he wanders further into the castle wing.

"Oh, do be careful, dearest.", Mrs. Potts whispers.

Cogsworth, however, wasn't as hopeful. "…It was nice knowing him…"

Cut to the prince's quarters once again, where Relena detects the presence of one touched by the light. It felt similar to Marin's light, yet also different. "…Hmm…"

Turning away from the rose, the prince faces her. "What is it?"

"…There's someone inside the castle… One of malicious intent…"

"What? An intruder?"

"Yes.", she affirms through her soft voice. "I know their evil firsthand. Left to their own devices, they will eventually destroy all you hold dear, my prince… Your beautiful castle…your devoted servants…and your precious rose…"

"The rose…!"

"This is _your_ home… You must defend it…"

With an incensed roar, the prince-turned-beast bursts through the bedroom doors, nearly ripping them off the hinges in the process, and goes to face the intruder.

Left alone in his shambles of a room, Relena approaches the rose, giving a sinister smirk. "This is _way_ too easy…"

As he navigates the castle's various twists and turns and fights through waves of Heartless, the young Keyblade master eventually finds his way to the very end of the west wing, where through a half-open door he arrives in the prince's chambers. "Jeez! It looks like a tornado blew through here!" Everything about the room – the tattered curtains, the shattered glass, the crooked picture frame with the almost unidentifiable painting – seemed to shout 'Heartless attack'.

"…_The master himself was turned into a monstrous beast…"_

Could it have been the master of the castle himself who trashed the room?, thought Roche. If so, this was one individual he'd rather not run into. At the far side of the room, near the balcony window, Roche finds a bell jar sitting on top of a stool. Inside the jar was…nothing. "Huh…?"

Just then, the bedroom door slams open. "_You!_", snaps an enraged voice.

"!" Spinning around, Roche comes face-to-face with a most frightening entity: a hideous fiend with brown fur, bent black horns, clawed hands, a bushy tail, and wearing only a ragged purple cape and midnight-blue pants.

The Beast looks upon the boy with intense anger. "What have you done with the rose?"

Roche's hands and knees quiver with fear. "I-I was… I didn't…!"

"_ANSWER ME!_"

"N-N-Nothing! I didn't touch it, I swear!"

"Grrrr… You're _lying_!", howls the Beast, proceeding to pounce on the child.

"AAH!" Rolling out of the way of his sudden attack, Roche bolts out through the bedroom door and sprints madly away down the hallway. "Crap, _crap_, _**crap**_, _**CRAP**_!"

The furious prince appears in the hallway just seconds later, giving chase on all fours. "Get back here!"

Drawing the Superquake as he ran, Roche attempts to slow the Beast down by throwing out large spires of rock to obstruct his path.

Unfortunately, the Beast's brute strength is able to break through these obstructions with ease.

The chase leads the two into the hallway with the all-floor carpeting and suits of armor, and it takes the feral prince no time at all to catch up. "Where…is…my rose?", he growls through his fangs.

Overcome by fright, Roche falls back onto the carpeted floor, looking as though he were going to wet himself. Unable to speak, he simply exhales soft whimpers.

"**What are you staring at?**"

"I-I wasn't staring! I–!"

"Tell me where the rose is! _NOW!_"

"I… I don't…"

"Nothing to say? Fine." Stomping around to Roche's backside, the Beast takes him by the collar and drags him away. "Then you can just rot away in a dungeon cell until you're ready to talk!"

"N-No, wait! Please! I haven't done anything, really! NO!"

The boy's wails echo across the west wing. Just around the corner, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and Chip watch helplessly as their guest is hauled off to the undercroft. "Ohhh… The poor lad…", Mrs. Potts sighs.

"Can't we do something, mama?", Chip asks.

"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do, child.", says Cogsworth. "To defy the master is folly."

Lumiere, however, wasn't as compliant. "Folly or no, I cannot sit by while the master's cruelty ruins another's innocence! No child deserves to be locked up! Come, _mes amis_!", he exclaims, leading the group to pursue.

The stuffy clock heaves an exasperated sigh. "Are rules and order so ineffectual a concept…?"

…Some fifteen minutes later, Roche is seen on the frigid dungeon floor, sitting up and hugging his legs. With his face buried in his sleeves, his muffled sobs echo weakly off the stone walls. "Ciel… Sis… Where are you…? I'm too scared to do this on my own… I need your help…"

"Roche?", a voice calls out from out from beyond the dungeon door.

"Mrs. Potts…?", Roche calls back, crawling over to the door. Through the openings between the iron bars, he sees his houseware friends standing outside. "Guys…! What are you doing here?"

"To break you out, of course!"

"Really…? But your master–"

"Oh, pish-tosh. We understand the prince's aversion to the unwelcomed, but you're but a child – not even much older than my Chip. There's far too much life for you to live to be cooped up in a dingy old cell."

"But if he finds out you're helping me, he might throw you all in here too! I can't let you risk your freedom for my sake!"

"Well! That settles that then! If he doesn't require our help, there's no need for us to go to the trouble of offering it, is there? Let's be on our way!", Cogsworth directs before tripping over his own feet again. "Oof! Oh, blast it!"

Ignoring his clumsy friend, Lumiere looks up at Roche through the bars. "Forgive my listening in, but I heard you say 'Sis' before. You have a sibling, I take it?"

"…My big sister. Marin."

"And this _mademoiselle_, this 'Marin' – she awaits your return home, _non_?"

"Mm-hmm."

"It is up to you, _mon petit_. Go home to where family waits for you…or forever remain a prisoner of the master."

Roche's gaze shifts down to the ground. He felt almost ashamed of giving up. What would Marin say if she saw him now?, he wondered.

"_C'mon, look sharp! You're a Keyblade master! Keyblade masters are supposed to be tough! No more crying, 'kay?"_

The boy wipes his tears away and hardens his gaze, having found his second wind. "A prisoner forever? I don't think so!", he declares.

"Hah! Splendid! We'll have you out of here in just a moment!"

As they gather underneath the door latch, Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts attempt to free Roche by forming a ladder, with Mrs. Potts at the bottom and Cogsworth at the top. Cogsworth uses his 'clock handle' hands to pick the lock. "Hmph! I still can't believe I let you talk me into this!", gripes the ornery clock. "I'm an accessory now! An accomplice!"

"Less nitpicking, more lock-picking!", Lumiere snaps from below.

The ladder they formed was far from steady, however, as it doesn't take long for Lumiere to lose his footing on Mrs. Potts' head, and the whole 'structure' comes crashing down.

"Ohhhh… I think I bent my pendulum…", Cogsworth moans.

Not that he wasn't appreciative of the effort, Roche decides to take over. "Heh… Thanks, guys, but I'll take it from here…" He rises to his feet and draws the Keyblade. He points it at the door and turns it 90 degrees.

A glitter of silvery-white briefly blankets the padlock, and it unlocks…!

Meanwhile, the Beast races into the entrance hall, still conducting his search for the rose. As he enters, his eyes fall upon a figure in the pale candlelight. "You…!"

At the bottom of the stairs, leaning against a column, was the always pleasant Relena. "…Hey.", she greets plainly. Lifting up her right arm, she's seen holding something giving off a pink glow.

"!"

"…Looking for this?", she asks as she holds up the enchanted rose.

The Beast clenches his claws into tight fists. "You…deceitful little…!"

"You want it…?", Relena whispers, slipping rearward into the shadows. "_…Come and get it, big boy…_"

The deluded prince lets out a great roar of anger.

"See? I told you I didn't take your stupid rose!"

The Beast faces his right to see Roche descending the stairs from the west hall. "Child! How did you escape your cell?"

"Does that really matter right now? You need help getting your rose back, right?"

"I need no one's help! Especially not yours! This is _**my**_ castle!"

A thunderous rumble from outside the castle signals the arrival of a massive force of darkness.

"…The Heartless sure don't think so. They made themselves right at home here."

The Beast bares his fangs once more. "Do not test my patience, boy."

Roche gulps. Sure, the Beast was just as frightening as ever, but now was no time to exhibit fear. "Look!", he begins. "I know you don't like me, and I know you don't want me here! And believe me, I don't wanna be here either! But as a Keyblade master, it's my job to destroy the Heartless wherever they appear! So I'm going out there to get rid of whatever it is that just showed up, and I'll do it with or without your help!"

The Key-bearing teen's outburst catches the beastly prince off-guard. He stands there in surprise while the boy dashes down the stairs and out the front entrance into the courtyard. "…"

Once outside, Roche encounters a large (but not necessarily gigantic) Heartless. Aesthetically, it resembled an armoire, with an overall wheat color scheme. It had two large chartreuse doors and two small drawers on the front, with five additional drawers lining its interior. It walked on four short legs, and the Heartless emblem adorned its back.

Roche readies the Superquake and prepares to do battle with the _Wicked Wardrobe_. "_En garde_!"

The Wardrobe's front drawers slide open, and a number of Soldiers and Hook Bats jump out. While its Heartless legion fights, the Wardrobe wanders aimlessly about the battlefield. Roche rushes in, easily dispatching the army of humanoids and flutterers, and makes his way toward the Wardrobe. As he draws close, the Wardrobe opens up its doors and the top interior drawer slides out to strike. The drawer impacts Roche, sending him flying a short distance back. He prepares to try again, but the enemy preempts this by summoning an army of Neoshadows and Gargoyle Knights. Roche grits his teeth at the annoying tactic, but pushes through. Drawing the Keyblade back, he launches forth and blasts through the horde with a show of Ars Arcanum. After clearing a path, he saves the final strike of the Arcanum for the Wardrobe. The odd Heartless proves to be a slippery one, however, as it leaps out of the way of the attack. "Tch!" Roche points his weapon up and conjures a large sphere of fire at its tip. "_**Firaga Burst!**_" The fireball releases a collection of smaller ones that rain down upon the courtyard. Any Heartless left standing would burn to a crisp. But even on its stubby legs, the Wicked Wardrobe was considerably nimble, able to evade many of the raining fireballs. As the fiery rain subsides, it summons even more Heartless to serve as cannon fodder, causing Roche further frustration. "Aw, come on already!"

All of a sudden, with a leap and a roar, the Beast jumps into the fray, mowing down a portion of the crowd in an instant. The sheer force of its bellow blows away the rest.

Taken aback by the display, Roche stammers, "P-Prince!"

"Not a word!", the Beast barks. "I do this not for your sake, but for the sake of my castle! Are we clear?"

"…Heh. Whatever you say."

In the face of the Beast's arrival, the Wardrobe hops up and down in a craze, seeming panicked. Opening up several of its drawers, it fires upon the two with a hailstorm of the elements, such as fire, wind, and water. The Beast defends himself with his bulky arms as the projectiles pelt him relentlessly. A few seconds into the barrage, Roche jumps in front and thrusts the Keyblade into the ground at his feet, and a wall of earth rises from below to absorb the assault. The Beast claws his way to the top of the wall and over the range of the projectiles, propelling himself into the air and above the Wardrobe. He drops down onto the Heartless with a vicious claw slash that severs two of its open drawers. As the enemy recoils, Roche pops out from behind the Beast to cut at a third drawer with an upward-arcing strike. The Wardrobe quickly distances itself from the two and uses its remaining drawers to summon a vast legion of Crimson Jazzes, Morning Stars, and Hammer Frames. The Beast immediately goes to work on the Heartless, while Roche makes for the Wardrobe. The edgy Heartless stomps from side to side, preparing to dodge the boy's next attack. But as swift as the Wardrobe's feet were, not even they were fast enough for Roche's six-stage Sonic Blade. The enemy briefly wobbles before launching a counterattack. Balancing itself upon a single leg, it attacks Roche with a whirling pirouette. Roche suffers a few hits from the unorthodox attack, but refuses to yield. During the Wardrobe's gyration, he reaches out to grab the handle on one of its doors and is consequently pulled along for the ride. He then shoots off a series of Fire spells straight up. Having nowhere to go but down, the fireballs change direction and do just that, falling from the sky and pelting the Wardrobe's head. Unable to maintain its spin, the Heartless stops and staggers back and forth from dizziness. During this, Roche gets into position in front and lays into it with the Keyblade, disabling the rest of its drawers. Coinciding with this, the Beast eliminates the last of the Wardrobe's meat shields. The enemy takes a minute to assess the situation: it had no means of summoning additional Heartless, virtually no means of attacking, and was otherwise powerless. Its only fallback plan? Retreat!

"Oh, no, you don't!", Roche shouts defiantly. He takes aim with the Superquake and focuses on the fleeing Heartless' emblem, firing upon it with a beam of white light.

The beam travels straight through the Wicked Wardrobe's body, and it's reduced to nothingness from the emblem out. Its released heart floats up to the night sky.

A short-lived silence befalls the courtyard, and someone nearby is heard clapping. Roche turns to its source.

Approaching with a slow walk, Relena applauds the two's efforts. "_Bravo_! This turned out to be just a banner evening, didn't it? Had myself a bit of fun, got a great show out of it, and on top of everything, the lead performer turns out to be the small fry! I'm not gonna lie – I did _not_ see this coming!"

"Uh… And you are?"

"Oh, come on, not this bit again. Is my face really that forgettable? Give it a minute, it'll come to ya…"

As with Ciel, it takes a few moments for the woman's face to register in Roche's memory banks. His reaction was practically identical. "R-Relena…?"

"There it is! …Man, just look at you. You shot up like a weed, kid. Seems like just the other day you were drying your eyes on your sister's sleeve every 5 seconds."

The remark brings tinges of red to Roche's cheeks. "I-I'm not the little kid I was three years ago, Relena!", he yelps defensively.

"ENOUGH!", roars the Beast. "The rose! Now!"

"What, this thing?" Reaching behind her, Relena presents the Beast's enchanted rose and flings it at him. "Take it. I have no use for it. Worthless thing doesn't even _smell_ like a real rose."

The Beast catches the magical flower gently in his palms and continues to give Relena the evil eye. "If you've done anything to it, I swear I'll…!"

"Oh, don't get your horns in a knot, 'Princey'. If I was gonna do something, I'd have done it by now. And poof. Your dreams of becoming human again – up in smoke."

"Why are you doing this, Relena?", Roche cries. "This isn't like you! I know you liked to tease people, but this… This is just…! You're acting as bad as the Heartless!"

"…Hah. Funny you should say that." Relena turns her back to Roche…

…revealing the Heartless emblem she now bore. "!"

"…'Big Sis' sends her love, by the way.", is the last to escape her lips before departing through a Dark Corridor.

"W-Wait! You saw Marin? Where is she? Relena, come back!" Roche's arms fall helplessly to his sides, his words failing to reach.

The Beast could care less that the sadistic blonde was gone. With rose in hand, he turns toward the castle doors. "Good. Now that she's gone, you can join her. Leave at once.", he demands.

"What? Not even a 'thank you' for helping protect your home?"

"I'm allowing you to leave here with your life!", the prince retorts. "I owe you nothing else!"

The Beast takes his leave of the courtyard and returns inside, parting ways with the Key-wielding child. "…You don't have to be a jerk about it…", he gripes under his breath. Facing away and holding out the Superquake, Roche envisions home and family in his mind, and the blade reacts by opening a Light Corridor. "Well, this was a tiring detour… I didn't even get to–"

"HEY! ROCHE!"

Roche turns back to the castle one last time and looks up toward the balcony…

…where Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and Chip wave goodbye to him. "Come back and play sometime, okay?", Chip cries out.

Roche gives a moved smile and waves back to this world's one redeeming aspect. "Heh. I'll try my best, Chip! Maybe when your master's learned to cheer up a little! Hahahaha!"


	7. Report 7: The Halloween Queen

Alright, I'll be honest. I kinda bulldozed through this one because I really wanted to break my personal best of three submits in a month. If it seems rushed, I apologize. Next chapter'll be better, I promise. ^_^;

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts is a trademark of Square-Enix and Disney. Mega-Spider boss from The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge is a trademark of Capcom. Any similarities between this and other works submitted are purely coincidental.

* * *

_In this town we call home, everyone hail to the pumpkin song…_

_**Kingdom Hearts ~another side~**_

**~ Report 7: The Halloween Queen ~**

The town of all things Halloween, well known by its cheerily morbid appearance all year long. Pumpkin lanterns line every street and alleyway. Colonies of bats flutter by as they fill the night air with high-pitched screeches. A great full moon casts a luminescence over the Midnight Hill horizon.

Marin arrives outside Guillotine Plaza and is treated to the many bone-chilling sights and sounds this world had to offer. "Whoa… And I thought _my_ house was scary on Halloween…", mutters the redhead to herself. "Seems like the kind of place Relena would feel right at home in." Marin observes the various creatures and monsters that called this world home. Almost immediately, she realizes a notable difference between herself and them: she was significantly more…colorful.

Stepping away from the gate, Marin takes a moment to assess her attire. "I go out there looking like this and I'll stick out like a sore thumb. …Hmm…" A light bulb switches on in Marin's brain… "Ah! I know!" …and she draws the Deepest Blue. She raises her hand up above her and waves the blade about like a magic wand. As she does this, a sprinkle of white dust showers over her, magically changing her appearance.

Through the magic of the Keyblade, Marin acquires a paler skin tone (bordering on beige), hair a much darker shade of red with a streak of white running down the middle-right side and hanging loosely down her back as opposed to a ponytail, a skull barrette, black eyeliner that accentuated the gold in her eyes, seductive maroon lipstick, decorative bat earrings, a spiked choker, a black velvet dress and a roses-and-thorns pattern that was somewhat more revealing than her typical manner of dress, pointed fingernails with red nail polish, fishnet stockings, and black high-heeled shoes.

The girl couldn't help but have a laugh at her own expense. "If the others ever saw me in this, I'd never hear the end of it.", remarks she. After tucking the Keyblade safely away, Marin sets her sights upon the rust-coated gate and watches it slowly creak open as she approaches. She takes in a deep breath and steps lightly forward, passing by a pumpkin-headed scarecrow that bore a wooden sign with the words 'Halloween Town' carved into it.

The town square buzzes softly with activity. Marin circles the fountain and guillotine and shares passing glances with some of the world's assorted inhabitants: ghosts, ghouls, vampires, witches, werewolves, fish-man hybrids, a living tree or two. They pay her no particular mind at first, but find they do a double-take in her direction – if not for the unfamiliarity of her face then for the attractiveness of it. Marin had wished not to be made a spectacle, and here she finds herself to be exactly that. 'So much for not sticking out like a sore thumb…', she broods over.

A short distance away, a tender voice to Marin's left speaks up. "Um, excuse me?"

"Hmm?" As she turns to face her left, Marin is suddenly approached by another such resident of Halloween Town: a woman with pale blue skin, long brown hair, covered in seams and stitches. Her overall appearance and attire had given off the vibe of a ragdoll. In spite of this, she seemed like one of the world's less bizarre-looking characters, and the kindness in her eyes filled Marin with a sense of peace. "Can I help you?"

As she walks up, the brown-haired woman looks upon Marin as though the two had already met. "It _is_ you…", she begins, slightly under her voice. "So you've come… I was afraid this would happen…"

"Wait, what? You knew I was coming?"

"Yes. It was in a vision I had today. You came to Halloween Town, and something had followed you. Something…really bad."

Marin's spine grows cold. Considering the nature of the world she was visiting, she would have shrugged it off as a mere scare attempt, but there was something to the woman's words and tone. A sinister something. "W-What was it?", asks Marin through her stutter. "What followed me?"

"I'm sorry.", the woman answers in regret. "All I could see was Moonlight Hill. You were there, and everything was being swallowed by black."

"…"

"…Forgive me for sounding rude, Miss, but I think it'd be in everyone's best interests if you left. Right now."

"Uh…" Had Marin not chuckled then, she'd have surely taken the woman up on her suggestion. "Y-You sure you're not just worrying too much? Okay, yeah, this place does look a little…bleak, but I don't sense anything that bad."

The brown-haired woman was less than convinced. "But…"

"Oh! There you are, Sally!"

In enters aside voice #2. Marin is now greeted by a tall, thin skeleton wearing a black-and-white pinstripe suit and black bat-shaped bowtie. He greets the girls with a wide seam-like smile.

The woman Sally's demeanor seemed to brighten up at the man's entrance, if only a little. "Oh, hello, Jack.", she greets.

"I wanted to go over the plans for next Halloween with you.", says 'Jack' as he enters. Looking over, he meets Marin's eye. "Ah. I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"Well, not really… This is, uh…"

"Marin. Hi there."

"A pleasure to meet you, Marin!", Jack greets with a courteous bow. "Jack Skellington at your service! Unfortunately, you've picked sort of a bad time to visit. And while I see you're certainly dressed for the occasion, I'm afraid you just missed this year's festival."

"Aw, that's too bad. Well, there's always next year."

"Oh-ho. A fan of Halloween, I take it?"

"You kidding? I _love_ Halloween! I go trick-or-treating with my friends every year!"

"Wonderful! In that case, why don't you come with me to see Dr. Finkelstein? I was just on my way to see him anyway about next year's festival."

"Next year's? Didn't this year's just end?"

"Oh, Marin. When it comes to perfecting the art of terror, it's never too early to start planning!"

"Really…?"

"Naturally! Now come on! We mustn't keep the doctor waiting."

As Jack's incredibly long legs carry him off toward a sort of laboratory, Marin follows by the tip of his coattails, opting to indulge in this sudden curiosity of hers. Sally, still concerned about the vision she had earlier that day, stays behind as an even greater deal of unease sets in. "…"

Jack and Marin climb the steps leading up to Dr. Finkelstein's lab. All through the upward hike, Jack speaks praise of the scientist. "Most of the ideas I've had for Halloween wouldn't have been made a reality if not for Dr. Finkelstein. He truly is a genius."

"You don't say…"

The two at last reach the door at the top of the stairs, and Jack reaches out his hand to open it…

…but he's beaten to the punch when an explosion inside causes the door to swing open. Jack and Marin are greeted by a massive cloud of smoke.

Following this, an infuriated yell. "_You meddlesome brats!_"

Then, through the smoke emerges a trio of children, all wearing Halloween costumes and masks and laughing flippantly. "Run away!", cry the three in unison.

Marin jumps to the side, as the three would've run her over otherwise. "Hey, watch it! You could hurt someone!", she scolds. "…Who were they?", asks the redhead to Jack.

"Lock, Shock, and Barrel.", he replies. "A bunch of perpetual troublemakers. It's Halloween all year round to those three. But I wouldn't worry myself over them; they're pretty harmless."

A violent cough is then heard within the fumes. As they finally clear, a man dressed in a lab coat and large black gloves and seated in a motorized wheelchair appears. The man had skin as white as paper, beady black eyes concealed by goggles, and a beak-like mouth. "Argh! Those infernal little gremlins! If I were their parent, I'd have half a mind to…! Ooh!"

"Hello, doctor.", Jack suddenly greets, perhaps to distract the scientist from his frustrations.

"Eh? …Ah, Jack Skellington. Right on schedule. …And I see Sally isn't with you. Where'd that wretched girl sneak off to this time?"

"Hmm? Strange. I could've sworn she was right behind us."

"Ugh… Never mind, I'll deal with her later. Come in, my boy, come in!" Turning his wheelchair around, Dr. Finkelstein wheels himself back inside, with Jack and Marin close behind.

As Marin enters, a number of items catch her eye: a bookshelf, beakers and test tubes, wall levers and switches, and an operating table. It certainly had all the makings of a scientist's lab. Her eyes turn to the operating table once more; a strange pumpkin-shaped machine with legs lies on top of it. She inquisitively pokes at it, wondering if the mechanism were alive. "What's this thing…?", Marin asks Jack and the doctor.

With an excited laugh, Jack answers, "This, Marin, is my latest instrument of nightmares! I call it the 'Arachno-Jack'. One morning, I thought to myself, why not take pumpkins and spiders – two equally powerful forces of fright – and brought them together? Next year, I'm gonna have a whole bunch of these bad boys walk the streets of Halloween Town, scaring everyone with their petrifying gazes, bloodcurdling howls, and breath of fire!"

"These things…breathe fire…?"

"Hahaha! Of course not! The Arachno-Jacks generate their own light source through an interior furnace. They're as harmless as jack-o'-lanterns."

"Yes, and I had just finished working on the engine…", Dr. Finkelstein jumps in with. "…when Lock, Shock, and Barrel tampered with my equipment and disabled the engine coils! Now, until I get my lab up and running again, I can't activate it!"

"So it just needs power?"

"Precisely."

"…I think I can help with that." Marin holds out her hand and summons the Keyblade.

The weapon's magnificence and beauty briefly mesmerizes Jack and the doctor. "Ohhhh…"

Taking a couple of steps back, Marin takes aim at the 'bedridden' Arachno-Jack and releases several volts of Thunder-based magic. The resulting voltage completes the circuit and powers up the engine. Joints start to click, gears start to whirr, and the mechanized spider-pumpkin jerks alive, pushing its legs against a nonexistent floor.

"It's working…!", the doctor exclaims. "It's really working! Ha-ha!"

Jack's fascinations lay not in his new toy, however, but in the weapon in Marin's hand. "My… What a remarkable device this is… Tell me, can it do anything else? Make fire? Create ice?"

"Uh, sure, and a bunch of other stuff too."

"Is that so…? Well, that settles it! Marin, how would you like to help me with the festival next year?"

"M-Me?"

A group of prying ears listens in on Jack's festival plans through a crack in the entrance. "Ooh! Sounds like Jack and that lady are up to something!"

"Something big!"

"Should we tell Mr. Oogie?"

"Yeah, yeah! Come on, let's go!"

"Hee-hee! This is gonna be fun!"

A small crowd is called to gather in Guillotine Plaza. Murmurs of anticipation and curiosity fill the square as the citizenry waits and speculates. Atop a large platform stands a short man with a peculiarly cone-shaped body and stubby legs with tiny feet. His manner of dress was formal: a large, thin top hat, black suit, a spider-shaped bowtie, black-and-white pinstriped pants, and a red ribbon on the left side of his blazer that bore the administrative title of 'MAYOR'. Bringing a short, metal megaphone to his perpetual smile, he addresses the public. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and ghouls, I give you your Pumpkin King… Jack Skellington!"

Inside the well, the surface of the sickeningly green water start to vibrate, beginning as a gentle ripple but soon escalating into a violent ebb and flow. A slender figure emerges from beneath the emerald depths and gazes upon the crowd with hollow eyes. With his arrival, Jack Skellington strikes a daunting pose, prompting the public's applause and cheers. "Thank you! Thank you, all! You're far too kind! …I have a special treat for all of you today. I know the Halloween Festival is over and the next one is a whole year away, but I thought I'd give you a sneak peek at what next year's festival has in store! We have a special guest with us in Halloween Town today…and she'd like to say hello. Everyone… Presenting the mistress of fright, the duchess of blight… 'Marin the Macabre'!"

The sound of jangling chains turns the attention of everyone in the plaza upward, where a coffin appears to be lowering from the sky. The lid makes a screaming creak as it opens. After several seconds of suspenseful silence, a single hand reaches out to grab the side of the coffin, and Marin slowly picks herself up to sit upright. At that moment, her eyes shoot open and she rapidly rises to her feet. A collective gasp fills the crowd, and Marin takes the Deepest Blue into her hand. To kick things off, she twirls her body around on one leg and shoots off a cluster of Fire spells. The fireballs fly about the crowd's airspace as Marin directs. One of the Fires stops short of roasting a werewolf, simply floating in place before him. Just then, it sprouts a face, complete with eyes and serrations in the flames that resemble teeth. The other fireballs follow suit and sprout similar expressions of spiteful intent. Marin continues by setting the sky ablaze with a show of thunder and lightning. The crowd's terrified shrieks are matched only by her evil cackle. But her outward malice belied the merriment being had within. Perhaps she was more like Relena than she cared to admit. 'This is so much fun!'

The infectiousness that was laughter would reverberate from beyond Moonlight Hill as well. At the far end of a ramshackle rope bridge is a great, grotesque, irregular mansion situated on top of a high-reaching hill. Fashioned out of an old, dead tree, held together by crooked wood roads and ladders, and decked out with pumpkins, bones, and a spider cage, it was a manor worthy of only the most abominable of Halloween freaks.

Enter one Oogie Boogie, a plump burlap sack of a man (if he can be called as such) with a great collection of bugs and maggots where would typically be blood, bones, and internal organs. He laugh a hearty guffaw as he palms a pair of dice between the folds of his leathery, fingerless hands. "So Jack's roped another poor chump into his Halloween plans, eh? Well, how _nice_ for him!", the bag o' bugs cynically comments.

"It's a girl!", Shock yelps.

"A _pretty_ girl!", Barrel adds.

"Oh, well, _**excuse**_ me – a _chumpette_! Either way, if she's a buddy o' Jack's, she ain't no buddy o' mine! …Wait… How pretty are we talkin'?"

Lock speaks up, "_Really_ pretty! And _mean_ too!"

"Mean, huh? Hmmm… Bah! Who cares? I'm puttin' the kibosh on this little partnership before I'm yesterday's bedbugs! No way Oogie Boogie's rollin' over for some floozy! I got a job for ya, kids. I want ya to lure the chumpette away from the square and scare her somethin' good."

"What do we do with her?", Lock inquires.

To which Oogie heatedly replies, "I don't care! Just drive her outta the town! Heck, if ya end up takin' her out for good, that works even better!"

Barrel's wicked clown grin widens as an idea comes to him. "Ooh! Can we use _that_, Oogie? Can we?"

Shock picks up on this in a heartbeat. "Ooh, that's a great idea! Hee-hee-hee!"

"Hmm… Ah, why not? I'm feelin' extra _slithery_ today! Hahahaha!"

The quartet shares a bout of baleful laughter as 'Operation: Give Marin the Boot!' is formulated.

…Back in Guillotine Plaza, the crowd of ghoulish beings disperses, having had its fill of Marin's unique brand of horror. Close by the entrance to Dr. Finkelstein's lab, Marin meets with Jack and Sally. "A wondrous show, Marin!", Jack emphatically acclaims. "If I had skin, it would've given me goose bumps!"

"Thanks.", says Marin. "It was a lot of fun actually."

"What did you think, Sally?"

"…"

"…Sally?"

"Huh? Oh. Y-Yes, it was…very nice."

Though Jack was puzzled by the brunette's behavior, Marin could immediately tell what was on her mind: no doubt the aforementioned vision she had of Halloween Town being swallowed by darkness and Marin being at the epicenter. If such a vision were indeed a sign of things to come, perhaps it would be best for the red-haired girl to move on. "…So, Jack.", Marin starts. "What's next?"

"I'm going to consult the doctor on ways to improve the Arachno-Jack. Good day to you both for now. I hope you enjoy your time in town, Marin."

"Thanks, Jack. Later.", Marin says to the departing Jack with a wave. Once the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town falls out of earshot, she turns to the miserable Sally. "…Me being here is really stressing you out, isn't it?"

Judging by Sally's reaction, Marin was right on the money. "I…"

"Where was it again? Moonlight Hill? That big curly hill, right? If that's where I was standing in your vision, I'll just stay clear of that area, okay? Nothing's gonna happen, I promise."

"…If you say so." Despite her attire, Marin seemed like the type whose words could be trusted. Her mood brightened ever so slightly, Sally walks off…

…leaving Marin by her lonesome. With a sigh, she folds her arms over her chest and looks out toward the rest of the town square, mulling over her next course of action. Move on to the next world? Or look into this entity from Sally's vision that was to consume Halloween Town? It was strange. During her time in this world, Marin had felt very little darkness. 'It doesn't feel like the Heartless have reached this place yet.', she thought. '…Though with all these weirdoes walking around town, it's hard to tell the difference…'

"Hehehe…"

"…Hmm?" Turning to the faint laughter behind her, Marin looks down to find Lock, Shock, and Barrel at knee height. As much as she liked kids, Marin was reasonably less than thrilled to see them. "Oh. It's you three. What do you want?"

Lock removes his devil mask momentarily and takes aim with a straw.

"…?" Expecting a spitball to come flying into her face, Marin receives a faceful of bugs, spiders, and worms. "Agh! What the?"

The trio promptly turns tail and flees in the direction of the graveyard, laughing cheekily all the while.

"Argh! You little punks!" Brushing the various creepy-crawlies off of herself, Marin pursues.

Lock, Shock, and Barrel flee from the woman scorned into the graveyard, squeezing their petite forms through openings between the gate's bars. Marin arrives at the gate to find it locked tight. "Oh, come on!" Not to be slowed down, however, she takes a step back and undoes the gate lock by way of the Keyblade. Her pursuit resumes.

As she enters the graveyard, Marin comes across the standard fare of graves and tombstones, including a large tomb at the far end with a slightly ajar lid. Much to her chagrin, Lock, Shock, and Barrel were nowhere to be seen. "Tch! Where could those little hoodlums have run off to? It's a dead-end!"

All of a sudden, a ghostly form appears and whizzes around Marin several times…

"W-Whoa!"

…before stopping in front of Marin's face to bark cheerily at her. It had a body like a white sheet and the face of a pooch, with floppy ears, a long, thin snout, and a tiny pumpkin nose.

Marin blinks a number of times before realizing she was in the presence of a ghost dog. "Uh, hey there, boy. You want something from me…?"

The ghost dog does little except stare vacantly, letting out a low whine.

"Um… Oh! I know!" Kneeling down, Marin picks up a short bone at her feet and wags it in the dog's face. "Here, boy! C'mon!"

In response, the pooch barks and pants excitedly.

"Fetch!", cries Marin as she tosses the bone toward the far end of the graveyard.

The dog quickly swerves around and flies over to where the bone landed and scoops it up into its mouth (regardless of its phantomlike body composition). It then flies back to where Marin was standing, drops the bone at her feet, and playfully nuzzles her cheek.

"Ha-ha! Good boy! …I'm looking for Lock, Shock, and Barrel. Did you see where they went?"

With an affirming bark, the dog flies back toward the end of the graveyard and floats over the partially open coffin.

The Keyblade master walks over and looks inside the coffin to find it didn't have a bottom, just a pit of black that seemed to stretch on forever. "…They went in there? You're sure?"

The ghost pup barks twice as if to answer 'yes'.

"Alright… Who am I to distrust man's best friend…?" Pushing the lid back further, Marin takes a leap of faith into the abyss.

On the other side of said abyss, the troublemaking trio of trick-or-treaters stands in a field of yet more pumpkins and jack-o'-lanterns, giggling about their latest exploit. "We got her good!", says the giddy Lock.

"What should we do next?"

"Let's throw her in a pit of snakes!"

"No, no! Let's tie her body to a rack!"

"How about we melt her skin with acid?"

As the three discuss ways in which to torture the outsider Marin, a tall shadow in the moonlight is cast upon them. Glancing up, they find an angered Marin hovering over them. With brows cast down and arms crossed, she begins to contemplate methods of torture as well. "Oh, the suspense just _kills_, doesn't it…?", she remarks to the children.

With a gulp in unison, the three scatter about in fear of the beating that Marin was about to dole out. "Run away!", they cry yet again.

Spinning around to give chase, Marin pauses as the revelation of where she stood sets in. She didn't give much consideration to where the inside of the coffin would lead her – the one area of Halloween Town she strove to avoid: the curly Moonlight Hill. "This is…", Marin started under her breath, recognizing the area as that in Sally's vision.

During Marin's trance, a skull with a lit fuse bounces on the soil and rolls by her feet. The small explosion it creates snaps her out of it.

Barrel makes a face of ridicule at her. "How'd you like my skull bomb, 'chumpette'?"

"Grrrr…!" Drawing the Deepest Blue, Marin makes a swift upward motion with it, summoning ice from the earth and encasing the derisive boy in a hollow prison of frost. "…One down.", she says to herself. Just then, a biting pain at her lower left leg turns her attention downward.

Ironically, 'biting' was an appropriate assessment, as the witch girl Shock had sunken her teeth into Marin's calf before retreating. "Hee-hee-hee! Catch me if you can!"

Readying the Keyblade, Marin accepts the challenge with a zealous "With pleasure!" Throwing the weapon in a descending arc this time, she casts Gravity.

"Oof!" The lass in the tall witch hat goes down in an instant, receiving a faceful of dirt.

"That's two! …Now then…" With both Shock and Barrel out of commission, Marin turns to the last kid standing. "…Anything you wanna try before I bend you over my knee and _spank_ you?"

Lock shouts through his smirk, "Just this!", jumping to the peak of the hill and kneeling down to tickle it. "Cootchie-cootchie-coo!"

The hill springs alive to the sensation and outstretches its 'arm', swinging it back and forth. The arm eventually swings into Marin, knocking her several yards back and to the ground.

As Lock continues his hill-tickling tactic, the hill swings its arm around endlessly, preventing Marin's approach. The devil boy makes expressions of mockery during this, such as stretching out his lips and sticking out his tongue. "Nyah-nyah, nyah-nyah-nyah!"

"Tch! You think this'll stop me? _Think again!_", the Key-bearing girl defies. Collecting a mass of electric energy to the tip of the Keyblade, she lets fly a projectile of lightning.

As soon as the projectile makes contact with the base of the hill's arm, the entire area erupts with voltaic fury. The hill's arm seizes up from the shock, and due to Lock's proximity, he suffers the same fate. The hill falls limp to the ground and Lock keels over into brief unconsciousness.

Marin shortly assembles the three to one end of the area. Barrel shivers from the residual cold of her ice cage, and Lock and Shock were still stricken numb. Marin stands over the trio with her hands on her hips. "Well?", she scolds. "You three have anything to say for yourselves?"

"We got nothing to say to you, _ugly_!", Shock insults.

"You've gotta be the rudest kids _ever_! Didn't your parents teach you any manners?"

Lock enters with, "Blah! Who needs parents when we've got Mr. Oogie Boogie?"

"Oogie who…?"

"Hehehe! In fact, Mr. Oogie let us borrow one of his favorite pets to play with you!"

Suddenly looking to the sky, the three call out in one voice, "_**OH, MEGA-SPIDER!**_"

From beyond Moonlight Hill, a large mass of black leaps high into the air.

"W-What the?" Marin's eyes shoot upward as she attempts to determine what it was that just appeared, but all she could make out in the lunar light was a small spider-shaped silhouette. It isn't until this _Mega-Spider_ lands on the ground that Marin's able to see it up-close and in full view. It bore four eyes of distinct sizes, teeth ground razor-sharp, chelicerae like snapping lobster claws, six wriggling legs, and an orange-and-yellow spiral pattern on its back. On top of this, its body was ten, perhaps eleven, times Marin's size. The giant arachnid gnashes its teeth and snaps its claw-like mandibles most ravenously at the diminutive girl.

Marin shudders in disgust at the sight of the beast. "Your boss keeps this thing as a _pet_?"

"Have fun, _ugly_!", Shock insults again as she, Lock, and Barrel flee across the hill's arm toward Oogie's Manor.

Marin expresses her displeasure with a simple "…Perfect."

Momentarily enclosing its anterior mandibles, Mega-Spider's jaws shoot open and it spits a hot lump of webbing at Marin. Demonstrating a moderate level of acrobatic prowess, Marin evades the webbing and wheels around to the arachnid's right side. There, she sweeps at its center-right leg. This knocks it off balance for a moment, but not nearly enough to break its attack flow. The spider rotates itself to face Marin and jumps at her. Marin springs away to evade the attack and braces for the ensuing quake. With Mega-Spider's back turned to her, Marin catches a glimpse of something on the rear of its abdomen: a glowing pumpkin shape. 'Seriously, what's with all the pumpkins in this place…?', she couldn't help but wonder. Nonetheless, she positions the Deepest Blue just so and shoots off a single Fire. In a manner akin to stepping on hot coals, Mega-Spider hops a short distance up while screeching in pain. In response, it adopts a strategy of opening up a large hole to the darkness and retreating inside. Just then, a swarm of much smaller spiders no bigger than Shadows emerges from the darkness to cover Moonlight Hill. Marin does away with the swarm with an assortment of spells, from Fire to Thunder to Gravity. When the last spider is squished into oblivion, the Mega-Spider makes a reappearance near the other end of the area, and the first thing Marin takes notice of is… 'It's…smaller?' Indeed, what was once over ten times Marin's size was now merely seven or eight. Before she could analyze further, however, Mega-Spider pounces once again with intent to skewer the redhead with its mandibles. Marin defends with the Keyblade and, as she absorbs the full weight of Mega-Spider's dive, is pinned. In such a position, if Mega-Spider couldn't run Marin through, it would settle for simply flattening her. In defiance, Marin tightens her grip on the Keyblade and pours Fire-based magic into the blade. The intense heat it gives off allows Marin to slice clean through one of Mega-Spider's mandibles and glide up through to its other side, taking out a couple of its legs as well. The massive insect crashes into the ground face-first while Marin hangs in the air directly above. With the pumpkin shape on Mega-Spider's backside completely vulnerable, the girl strikes into it with the full force of the Keyblade, prompting another pained screech. Marin lands shortly after while Mega-Spider digs its mandibles out of the soil. As the two sides face one another, the giant arachnid screeches once again in sheer anger. Marin strangely takes delight in this. "What's the matter? You mad?", she teases. The time for teasing quickly comes and goes though as a black aura begins to build around Mega-Spider's body, and the burning orange and yellow of the spiral pattern on its back turns to a chilling blue and violet. A similar chill runs down Marin's back. "…Uh-oh…" Like before, it retreats into a hole of darkness that opens up beneath its feet. But rather than generate another swarm of smaller spiders, the hole spreads outward and begins to cover all of Moonlight Hill. Marin slowly backs away as the darkness engulfs everything. The meaning behind Sally's words weren't more apparent to Marin than they were now.

"…_You came to Halloween Town, and something had followed you… Something…really bad… All I could see was Moonlight Hill… You were there, and everything was being swallowed by black…"_

Marin whispers through her quivering lips, "The darkness followed me…? Halloween Town's gonna be swallowed…because of me…?" In her distracted state, the hole reaches below Marin's feet and starts to pull her down inside. "Aah! Let go of me!" Struggle as she might, Marin was unable to break free, and the darkness devours her like black tar.

…Regaining consciousness an indefinite amount of time later, Marin awakens to find herself in the middle of a great black void. Any attempts to move would prove futile as she was bound by her wrists and ankles to a large spider's web. Hello?, she moves her lips to utter. But no sound would come, much to her horror. She opens her mouth wide to scream. Still nothing. She focuses on her left hand to summon the Keyblade. Also nothing. It felt as though the light had shunned her. As heavy anxiety sets in, Marin stares straight ahead into the darkness…

…until something stares back.

'?' It was faint at first, but before long there was no mistaking Mega-Spider's spiral of blue and violet. Then, a high-pitched noise that was almost unnoticeable in the deafening silence. A force from within the darkness pushes itself upon Marin's body. Like being stabbed by millions of tiny knives, even though nothing was happening physically. Marin screams in soundless agony as the sensation envelops her. Make it stop, she mentally cries through her tears. As the force subsides, she hangs her head in semi-consciousness.

Dozens of additional blue-and-violet spirals appear around the first, preparing to intensify the already excruciating torture.

This can't happen, thinks Marin. I can't be finished here. I have to stop Relena. Find Ciel and Roche. Go back home to my family. This can't happen. I won't let it happen. The light reacts to Marin's resolve and coats her in an aura of white to match Mega-Spider's black aura. 'You think I'm gonna just let you destroy me and have your way with Halloween Town…? No chance…! I brought you to this world…and now…_I'm showing you the door_!' The light surrounding Marin moves up and collects at her left palm, taking the form of the Keyblade. With it, she cuts herself loose from webbed captivity and faces the hundreds of Mega-Spiders. She holds the Keyblade close to her with the blade pointing up, and a circle of light appears below her. Then, holding the weapon up as high as her arm could reach, she summons a multitude of light pillars from above to decimate the enemy army. The conflict between light and darkness this creates causes Mega-Spider's pocket of darkness to collapse upon itself, and the two sides are returned to Moonlight Hill. To Marin's relief, Halloween Town was still here. Only the original Mega-Spider remained, and it was reduced to being no more than twice Marin's size. Operating on pure instinct at this point, Mega-Spider stampedes toward her. Marin widens her stance and grasps the Deepest Blue with the tip facing behind. In the face of the arachnid's rush, she stands her ground. "…" Once the beast is a handful of feet away… "_**ZANTETSUKEN!**_" …she moves in, vanishing for just a moment and reappearing to Mega-Spider's back. A short-lived quiet overtakes the battlefield…

…and the arachnid falls over to its death by disintegration.

"…Ugh." Marin drops to her knees, short of breath and weary from her brush with the dark. "That…was way too close…", mutters she in her solitude. "Sally was right… I should've left the second she warned me… I'd better get going…before I do any more damage…"

Rising to her feet, Marin takes her clouded conscience and makes her way back to the _Nautilus_, fearful of anything else she might cause in her negligence.

'Ciel… Roche… You'd better not be causing trouble for anyone…'


	8. Report 8: Arabian Nightmare

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts is a trademark of Square-Enix and Disney. Any similarities between this and other works submitted are purely coincidental.

* * *

_Only one may enter here… One whose worth lies far within… A diamond in the rough…_

_**Kingdom Hearts ~another side~**_

**~ Report 8: Arabian Nightmare ~**

Stop #3 on Ciel's interplanetary excursion sees the teal-haired teenager facing a fierce tempest of sand. Forced to make an emergency landing due to this world's inconvenience of sandstorms, the wielder of the Keyblade traverses a great desert, shielding himself from the sandy winds with his scrawny arms, in search of civilization.

"'Flies like a dream', huh?", Ciel rants, echoing Snow's words. "Yeah, right! A tiny bit of sand, and the _NORA_ goes down like a rock! I'm gonna belt Snow in the _face_ when I get home!"

After what seemed like hours – but could just as easily have been twenty minutes – of collecting sand in his socks, Ciel comes to a large wooden door in the storm. Coughing up assorted desert filth, he pounds desperately at the door with his fists. "Hello?", his gale-muffled voice cries out. "If anyone's there, please open the gate!"

No reply.

"Hello? _Anyone_? …I can break this door down with my awesome magic, just so you know!"

Oddly enough, this shout garners a reaction from the gatekeepers on the other side, cueing them to open the gates and allow Ciel passage into the city.

Admittedly, Ciel was also surprised by the effectiveness of this. "Huh… Didn't think that would actually work…", he comments to himself before stepping forward.

As Ciel enters the city, the gates are closed shut behind him. He shakes the accumulated sand off himself, not unlike a canine shaking itself dry after a brush with water.

One gatekeeper walks up to help the dust-coated boy up. He asks, "You alright, little boy?"

"Yeah… Thanks."

"You were fortunate.", says the other gatekeeper. "Most know it to be foolishness to go outside Agrabah during a sandstorm."

"Agrabah…?" The name would obviously strike Ciel as unfamiliar. Looking ahead, he's greeted by a paradise of sandstone and trade. The style of attire in this world was chiefly Middle-Eastern; all are seen wearing turbans, fezzes, veils, and a variety of robes. The buildings that lined its many streets were all carved from a tannish-yellow rock that appeared to burn in the sunlight. In the distance, a majestic palace with ivory-colored walls and brass domed ceilings stood. Of all of Ciel's stops on his journey, this was without a doubt the liveliest. If fate were so merciful, a clue to Roche and Marin's whereabouts awaited him here.

A pathway with a decorative awning hanging above leads Ciel out of the plaza and into the main street. A number of trading kiosks catch his eye but nothing particularly draws his attention. Any attempt to inquire about his friends or Relena would be disregarded and met with cries of "Fresh fruit!", "Meat and fish!", and "Handcrafted jewelry!" Just when he's about to concede defeat, a kiosk owner at the far end of the street calls out, "You there! Little boy!"

Ciel exhales a heavy sigh, expecting some other commodity to be thrown in his face.

"I take it by your expression that you've yet to find what it is you're looking for."

"Yeah… What about it?"

"Perhaps I can be of assistance."

"Let me guess: You're gonna try and sell me something too?"

"Now, now. I'm not that self-serving. Now come. If there's a way I can help, I will."

It was worth a shot, Ciel thought. Anything was preferable than being forced to purchase things he didn't need. "…I'm looking for my friends. One's a couple years younger than I am – brown hair and eyes, turtleneck sweater. Kind of a wimp. The other's a few years older than me – long, red hair in a ponytail, striped shirt with no sleeves. Kinda bossy. …_Really_ bossy."

"Hmm… Don't think I've seen anyone like that pass through here today. Got anything else to go on?"

"Uh… Oh, yeah! They both have Keyblades!" Ciel holds his left hand behind his back and draws the Pierce the Skies, holding it out in front of the merchant. "Like this one!"

"Ohhhh…!" In an instant, the merchant had all but forgotten about the kid's troubles. "By Allah, such an exquisite weapon! I've never seen anything like it!"

"Um, mister? About my friends?"

"The bizarre shape! The lustrous finish! It's remarkable! …What would you like for it? I'll give you all the gold I own in exchange for this sword!"

With a raised eyebrow, Ciel offers the following rejoinder, "Sorry. It's not for sale.", and walks away with pocketed hands and a disappointed glare. "…So much for that."

"W-Wait! All the gold I own, and I'll even throw in a free sword! Sharpest in all of Agrabah, guaranteed!"

On his own once more, the boy treks further into the city, leaving a trail of sneaker-prints in the sand behind him. Much to his – and certainly the rest of the city's – relief, no Heartless thus far. As his trek leads him past an alley, a pair of faint voices catches his ear.

The first was of an adult man, whose low baritone chills Ciel to the bone. "Tell me again…", the man starts (relative to Ciel's entrance). "…What was this place called?"

The second voice was of a young woman, equally as menacing and unmistakable. "The _Cave of Wonders_."

'That's Relena!', Ciel mentally gasps. Desiring a closer look, he darts to the end of the alley and peeks around the corner, taking care to keep himself hidden. There, he sees Relena speaking to a man in extravagant pitch-black and blood-red clothing, complete with a cape, pointed shoulders, and a flamboyant black headdress with a ruby and bright red feather set in the front. 'Who's that she's talking to?'

"Within its cavernous walls…", Relena continues. "…lies the greatest treasure trove known to man: mountains upon mountains of coin, jewels, gems, and other priceless artifacts. A fortune fit for a king of kings."

The man taps his fingers on the golden cobra-shaped scepter in his hands, reasonably skeptical of the tale. "And how exactly did you come to learn of this place's existence?"

With a mere shrug, Relena answers, "Eh. I get around."

"I see… And this treasure you speak of – it would be sufficient enough for me to buy out that sloth of a sultan and rule over Agrabah?"

"Why settle for ruling this dump…when you can be the most powerful being that ever lived…?"

"…Go on."

"Those 'mountains upon mountains' of gold I told you about? It all pales in comparison to what the Cave of Wonders _**really**_ has to offer. Behind its plethora of riches hides an ancient, mystical lamp. Inside the lamp sleeps a great and powerful genie that, once awoken, grants he or she who summoned it three wishes – three of their grandest and most desperate desires made real. 'Ruler of Agrabah'? Try 'ruler of the galaxy'. 'Ruler of the universe'! …Think about it, Jafar."

The man known as Jafar lowers his head to ponder. "Hmm… The idea does have merit. And, oh, how gratifying it would be to remove that puerile sultan and his spoiled daughter from power! Tell me, woman! How might I find the Cave of Wonders?"

Facing away, Relena answers, "It's easy. You just need the right _key_ to show you the way."

"'Key', eh? …I must consult the sands of time." As the ruby eyes of his scepter glimmer, Jafar vanishes in a cloud of crimson smoke.

"…" As Jafar takes his leave for regions unknown, Relena turns her head and looks toward the darkness, curling her lips into a smirk.

"!" Ciel ducks away, further into the shade, fearing he may have been spotted.

"…_Naughty, naughty."_

"Aah!" Nearly stumbling to the ground, Ciel spins to his rear, where the eerily swift Relena now stood. "H-How did…?"

"It's not nice to eavesdrop, Ciel. Didn't your parents raise you better than that?"

"What are you up to, Relena?", the 15-year-old barks, ignoring the madwoman's penchant for condescension. "What angle are you working this time?"

"'Angle'? Why do I have to be working an 'angle'?"

"**Don't toy with me!**"

"Sheesh, for a little kid, you sure are loud. Wish I had a muzzle. …Or better yet…" Bringing her right hand up, Relena suddenly snaps her fingers.

"What was that? What'd you just do?"

"I just flooded the palace grounds with enough Heartless to keep the Agrabah Guard busy for the next hour or so. …Can you hear it, Ciel? The cries of a dozen innocents as the Shadows consume them and make their hearts theirs?"

"You're a monster…!", the teen seethes.

"It's your call, shorty. Stay here and try to figure out my supposed 'angle', or run off and be the hero that you so insist on playing."

"Argh…!" As if it were ever a choice. Brushing shoulders with Relena as he runs past, Ciel bolts toward the palace grounds to, as the sadist put it, play the hero.

As Relena vanishes through a Dark Corridor, her sweet yet sinister voice lingers in the air. "_And so it begins…_"

Meanwhile, true to Relena's word, dozens of Soldiers, Bandits, and Fat Bandits cover the palace courtyard, laying waste to all they touch and seizing the hearts of ill-fated bystanders. Members of the scimitar-wielding Agrabah Guard appear on-scene to combat the black-fleshed fiends, but find their non-magical weapons pose little threat to their unearthly nature. The Heartless back a faction of five guards into a corner. To this faction's rear, two more residents of Agrabah: an adult, rather portly man with a full white beard and moustache, and a little girl, no older than 7 years of age, with long black hair bound into a ponytail by blue ribbon and wearing a light-blue bedlah with bustle pants, a blue headband with a sapphire set in the center, a golden necklace, and golden slipper-like shoes. The two cower in the corner as the guards form a protective semi-circle around them. Shouts one guard to the others, "No backing down, men! Protect the Sultan and princess with your lives!"

"Stay close, Jasmine!", says the Sultan to his daughter. "Don't leave my side for even a second!"

The girl Jasmine tightly clutches her father's pant leg. "Yes, Father…!"

Ciel arrives onto the chaotic scene moments after, watching as the Heartless have their way with the city and its people. Without hesitation, he draws the Keyblade and lunges in…

…only to have his path cut off by one of the Agrabah Guards, presumably their captain. "Halt!", the burly soldier yells at the boy. "No citizens allowed beyond this point!"

"Let me through! I can help fight those things!"

"The Agrabah Guard has the situation under control."

"But I–!"

"I won't say it again, boy! Leave here at once!"

"Grrrr…!" Ciel briefly looks past the pile of arrogance standing in front of him; it was evident that the situation wasn't as 'under control' as advertised. Without the intervention of a Keyblade master, it would only get worse before getting better. "Sorry about this!", the boy says, readying the Pierce the Skies and conjuring some wind.

"About what– _Aah!_" Before he could react, the guard is hurled into a side wall by a blast of air.

His path now free of obstacles, Ciel races forth to mow the Heartless army down.

"Agh!" The last guard protecting the Sultan and Princess Jasmine falls to the edge of a Bandit's sword.

As the Heartless close in, the defenseless father and daughter press their backs to the wall. "Stay back, you vile beasts! You'll not have my daughter!"

A lone Bandit steps forward and readies its weapon.

In an instinctive act of love, the Sultan shows his back to the Heartless army and holds Jasmine close. "Jasmine!", he cries, wanting his last thoughts to be only of his precious daughter.

"_Father!_", little Jasmine cries in return.

"_**TIME SPLICER!**_"

Much of the army nearest to where the Sultan and Jasmine were standing finds itself frozen in a time pocket, their perception of the passage of time severed. Just then, as if from nothing, Ciel materializes before the lone Bandit and cuts into it with a single swing of the Keyblade. Identical slashes are delivered unto the other Heartless in his vicinity, and as time resumes, they vaporize into powder.

Jafar bears witness to Ciel's power and ability from a nearby rooftop. His eyes glint with intense fascination. "That's it…!", he whispers through his grin. "The 'key' I require…!"

The remaining Heartless move in for their long-awaited kill, but Ciel denies them this by lifting the entire legion off the ground with a courtyard-wide whirlwind. Then, with a forceful upward motion, he catapults them into the sky and out of the city.

"Wow…"

Facing the Sultan and Jasmine behind him, Ciel finds the two in awe of his immense strength.

"My word…", the stout ruler of Agrabah mutters. "T-That was…extraordinary, young man. You did away with those creatures like they were nothing. My daughter and I owe you our lives."

"Heh. No problem– Whoa!" Cut off midsentence, Ciel is hoisted off the ground by his collar…

…courtesy of the Agrabah Guard captain from earlier. "You know what I do with felonious little street rats like you? I make sure they never again see the light of day!"

"H-Hey! Let me go, you gorilla!"

"Razoul!", spouts the young princess. "This man saved us! Unhand him right now!"

"But, princess, he–"

"Right. _**Now**_."

Even at a young age, Jasmine commanded quite a bit of authority, and disobeying a direct order from her was synonymous to a death wish. "…As you wish, your Highness.", Razoul complies, setting Ciel down.

"Gather your men, Razoul.", the Sultan instructs. "Assess the damage to the city and tend to the wounded. And heavens, see to it our young hero is well rewarded! Hohoho!"

At that moment, Jafar makes his entrance from the side. "Allow me, my liege. I shall personally ensure the lad is recompensed for his selfless service."

"Splendid, splendid. I think I'll retire to my chambers. Too much excitement is bad for someone my age. Hah. Come along, Jasmine."

"Coming, Father. Thank you for saving us, sir. Bye."

With that, the Sultan, Princess Jasmine, and Razoul take their respective leaves of the courtyard, leaving Ciel and Jafar by themselves. The man's goatee alone unnerved the boy. "…"

Opting the break the silence first, Jafar speaks. "I watched from afar as you dealt with those foul creatures. Allow me to first commend you for saving the lives of the Sultan and the princess. All of Agrabah owes you a debt that it cannot possibly hope to repay."

There was an insincerity in Jafar's tone that made Ciel even more uncomfortable. "…Sure.", he simply responds.

"The Sultan's requested that I reward you for your trouble, and I believe I know precisely how. I am in need of someone with your particular 'talents' to help me gain access to the greatest trove of riches this world has ever known or will ever know. Lend to me your power, and a portion of those riches is yours."

"…Y'know, if I were like all the money-hungry merchants in this city, I would've taken you up on that offer… But it's not the treasure you're after, is it…? You want the magic lamp."

"…How do you know of the lamp?"

"Enough to know what you plan to do once you have it! And I won't be a part of it!"

"…I see. The time for diplomacy is past, it would seem. In that case…" Jafar holds up his cobra scepter in such a way that its ruby eyes meet Ciel's. The rubies start to emit a hypnotic crimson glow.

The glow is mirrored in Ciel's eyes. "W-What are you…? Argh!" The Key bearer is resistant at first, but Jafar's magic proves far more powerful than he could withstand. Red swirls appear in his pupils to indicate the hypnosis taking hold. "Ah… Wha…?"

"You _will_ open the way to the Cave of Wonders for me.", the sinister sorcerer directs.

In a feeble monotone, Ciel replies, "Y-Yes… Jafar…"

"Hahahaha…"

Several feet away, outside Jafar's vision, Relena watches as Ciel is made the villainous vizier's puppet. "…Hmph. Guess the kid couldn't hack it after all.", she mutters before departing through a Dark Corridor.

…One relocation into the desert later, Jafar is led by the spellbound Ciel to an area in the vast sea of sand where little sunlight had reached. A mound of sand giving off trace amounts of light and a large wall of boulders surrounding it lie before the two. "This is the location that flaxen-haired woman specified.", Jafar states. "…Open it."

"Yes, Jafar…", Ciel drones in his continued state of hypnosis. Drawing the Keyblade, he holds it straight out in front of him. He then rotates the blade 90 degrees onto its side, and the sound of a lock coming undone is heard.

In response to this, the mound of sand rises with a violent rumble and takes the form of a tiger's head with its mouth hanging wide open. From beyond its fangs of sand, a warm light of red and orange emanates. The entrance to the legendary Cave of Wonders was now open.

Jafar is beside himself with excitement. "Magnificent…!" He walks forward with scepter firm in hand and prepares to enter the cave and claim his prize, but not before turning back to face Ciel. "You've performed your task admirably, my little pawn. And now that you have…I no longer have a use for you. And since you now know of my true nature, I can't very well let you live, can I?" With a short motion of his staff, Jafar dispels the effects of his magic over Ciel…

"H…Huh? What did I just…?"

…and summons a throng of assorted Heartless to divide them. "Dispose of him.", Jafar orders, promptly siccing his legion of lapdogs on the boy.

"What the?" Ciel instinctively defends himself with the Pierce the Skies, striking the Heartless down one-by-one as they bear down on him. Through his gritting teeth, he snarls, "_Jafar!_"

His snarl is met by indifference, however, as Jafar turns his back on Ciel and makes his way into the Cave of Wonders.

"Tch!" Ciel blows away the nearest Heartless with a Windcutter and backs away a few feet. The wall of enemies before him being too wide to go around, he decides to burst straight through. As if gripping a boomerang, Ciel holds the Keyblade behind him and enshrouds it in Aero magic. Then, with a mighty fling of Ciel's arm, the Keyblade goes flying. But rather than return shortly to the hand from which it was flung, the weapon sails through the air for several seconds, guided by its own whims, and clears a path through to the cave. The blade returns to Ciel's hand, and he immediately gives chase.

All of a sudden… "_A WORD OF WARNING, INTERLOPER._"

"Huh?" The 'interloper' Ciel stops in his tracks to look up at the tiger's head. "Did you just…?"

"_TOUCH NOT THE FORBIDDEN TREASURE. ONLY THE LAMP IS YOURS TO CLAIM._"

"…" On one hand, Ciel was being addressed by a tiger's head made of sand. On the other, Jafar could be seizing the magic lamp at this very moment. Priorities, thought Ciel. Taking the head's warning to heart, he leaps into the tiger's maw and descends the stairs into the cave.

Further into the cave's depths, the duplicitous Jafar effortlessly works his way through its many twists and turns, past the treasure room and into the lamp chamber. Across a pool of deep water and at the summit of a long stairway, Jafar's sought-after prize comes into view: the magic lamp. The ceiling above allows a narrow shaft of sunlight to cast a bright light upon it. The sorcerer could barely contain himself. Absolute victory was but a hop, skip, and jump away. "At last…!", he whispers elatedly…

"_**JAFAR!**_"

The outcry was a fingernail scratching at the blackboard of Jafar's mind. Turning to his rear, he sees a breathless Ciel brandishing the Keyblade. "Hmph. Bothersome pest." Striking the ground with his scepter, Jafar causes the ground at Ciel's feet to come alive and imprison him in a tight-fit cage of limestone bars. "There. That'll hold you." Upon accomplishing this, Jafar looks to the lamp and uses his mastery of magic to lift himself into the air.

"No! Come back here, you… Argh!" In a position in which almost zero movement was possible, Ciel frantically weighs his options, few as there were. With his arms restrained as they were, he could neither free himself from captivity nor attack Jafar from a distance. 'C'mon, Ciel, think!' Just then, barely outside his field of vision, he notices a strong red gleam. At the gleam's source, a golden monkey shrine stands. In the monkey's outstretched paws is a giant cut ruby. '…That'll work!' Ciel points the Keyblade out at the shrine and lifts the ruby into the air with a controlled wind. As it glides on the breeze, the giant jewel floats toward Ciel's hand. 'Come on… Almost there…'

"…Hmm?" Halfway between Ciel and the lamp, Jafar briefly looks to his rear as a sort of 'magic sense' draws his attention elsewhere. He notices Ciel bringing a piece of the 'forbidden treasure' to himself – a sight that makes him widen his eyes with dread. "Stop, you fool! You'll doom us both!"

Ciel retorts, "That's the idea!"

As soon as the ruby touches Ciel's palm, the entire cavern begins to tremble, and the voice of the Cave of Wonders booms. "_INFIDELS! YOU HAVE TOUCHED THE FORBIDDEN TREASURE! IN DOING SO, THIS PLACE SHALL BE YOUR __**TOMB**__!_"

The ruby in Ciel's hand, along with the golden monkey shrine, melts into a viscous liquid. The water turns to molten lava. The ceiling over Ciel and Jafar's heads starts to crumble.

"The lamp!" In an act of desperation, Jafar soars toward the lamp at high speed, but the pedestal on which it was displayed is suddenly enveloped in a wall of flames. "NO! My destiny!"

The ceiling directly above Ciel shifts in such a way that fractures the bars holding him in place, allowing him to easily free himself. Realizing there was no way for Jafar to seize the lamp now, he makes a mad sprint for the exit. He navigates the collapsing cavern walls, blasting obstacles away with magic where necessary, in a feverish attempt to escape. To his surprise, Ciel finds that he too is being blasted at with magic. Glancing back, he sees the incensed Jafar in hot pursuit, bombarding him with heated lightning from his scepter. "Oh, gimme a break!" Faced with both a crumbling cave and a sorcerer's fury, Ciel doubles his efforts, freezing the soles of his sneakers with ice so he could glide along the pebbly ground as though riding a skateboard. As the chase leads into the treasure room, and the rest of the treasure devolves into slime, Ciel makes further use of Blizzard and freezes the melting gold to bar Jafar's path. Now the only thing between him and freedom was a flight of stairs leading up. Ciel races up the steps as they crumble at his heels. The final stair breaks away, and Ciel leaps as high and as far as he could, successfully grabbing a hold of the surface ledge. He attempts to pull himself up when something takes him by the wrist. "!"

Just outside the 'Cave-in of Wonders' stands Jafar, giving Ciel his signature scowl. He roars into the boy's face, "You…_ruined_…_**everything!**_" With a crooked dagger in his other hand, Jafar makes ready to end Ciel's life…!

But Ciel was not without defensive means; drawing the Keyblade into his free hand, he delivers a powerful upward slash to Jafar's chest.

"AGH!"

With this, Ciel latches onto Jafar's arm and pulls him down into the cave with him.

"W-Wait! What are you…? No! _NOOOO!_"

As the two tumble down into the deepest depths of the cave, Ciel encloses them within a Reflect bubble as a way of softening the landing. The bubble ricochets off the cavern walls like a pinball as it falls.

The tiger's head sinks into the sand, effectively sealing the cave's entrance and trapping Ciel and Jafar inside.

…After a short bout of unconsciousness, Ciel and Jafar come to inside an airtight cave hollow. Upon awakening and regaining their composure, their eyes meet, prompting a simultaneous gasp of "You!" before springing to their feet.

Jafar fires off another stream of hot lightning, which Ciel narrowly avoids. "You squalid little urchin! Have you any idea of what you've just done?"

"Saved Agrabah from being ruled by the king of all lowlifes? Does that about sum it up?"

"I was within arm's reach of having all the power I could ever imagine!"

"And now you're stuck in here with me. Funny how that works out, huh?"

"I am a master of sorcery, boy! A hindrance such as this is child's play for someone of my repute to overcome! Don't assume for a moment that your aptitude for the arcane holds a candle to my own!"

"Oh, yeah?" In a direct challenge to Jafar's assertion, Ciel generates a cave-wide Reflect bubble to keep himself and Jafar in. "Why don't you put your money where your mouth is, you _snake_?"

Jafar bares his teeth in a grin. "A 'snake', am I…? An interesting turn of phrase…" Through the magic of Jafar's scepter, the white of his eyes become coral red, his pupils flatten as opposed to being circular, his canine teeth elongate and become like fangs, and his tongue becomes forked like that of a serpent. "Allow me to show you firsthand just how…_sssssnake-like_ I can be!", Jafar hisses, transforming the whole of his body, save for his rapier wit, into that of a colossal cobra. "If there's one thing the guardian of the cave and I can agree on…", Jafar continues. "…it's that you will not be leaving here…_ALIVE!_"

As the sorcerer-turned-snake hisses menacingly, Ciel loosens his stance. Jafar thrusts his head down to snap his teeth at the boy. Ciel quickly slides out of the way, causing Jafar's teeth to snap at nothing but air. As Jafar moves in a second time, Ciel strikes first with an Aero-propelled cut. Jafar reels back for a moment, allowing Ciel to bolt toward the end of the cave behind him. Jafar predictably pursues, slithering along the cold ground. Upon reaching the cave wall, Ciel darts up, causing the in-motion Jafar to crash. Once several feet off the ground, Ciel pushes off the wall, rotates his body in midair, and unleashes a handful of arcs of wind into the vizier's slithery form. Jafar retaliates with a swing of his tail, forcibly whacking Ciel to the ground, and subsequently slamming his midsection onto Ciel's back. The Keyblade is thrown from the boy's grasp, leaving him temporarily defenseless. While he struggles to wriggle free, Jafar bares his fangs in his face, breathing heavily and hungrily. Ignoring the giant snake's foul breath, Ciel frees one of his arms and 'calls' the Keyblade back to his hand, driving it into the mass of snakeskin smothering him. Jafar reels from the pain, giving Ciel ample opening to lift Jafar's body off himself with Aero. On his feet once again, Ciel runs alongside the length of Jafar's body, freezing him in place with a continuous show of Blizzard. When Jafar closes in to snap his jaws at the Keyblade wielder, he finds he's unable to with the rest of him glued to the ground as it was. With the precious seconds brought him, Ciel prepares to deal the finishing blow. However, Jafar manages to squirm his way through the ice and free himself! Jafar lunges forward, driving Ciel rearward into a wall. "Agh!" As Ciel's body goes limp, Jafar hooks his teeth into his shirt, launches him into the air, opens his mouth wide, and leaves the rest to gravity. Now it was Ciel's turn to bare his teeth; the boy had just about enough of people trying to eat him. He keeps himself elevated with a whirlwind, and then electrocutes Jafar from the inside with a Thunder spell down his throat. Jafar winces with numbness while Ciel plants his feet on his head. Gripping the Pierce the Skies in reverse, he lets out a cry of intense anger as he jabs the blade into Jafar's right eye. The snake shrieks in agony. Ciel leaps down as Jafar, in his state of throbbing pain, returns to human form.

The sorcerer briefly staggers, looking at Ciel wrathfully while covering his eye. "You…wretched street rat…!", he fumes. "No… Not even a rat…! You're an insect! A filthy little bug!"

Propping the Keyblade on his shoulder, Ciel gives a triumphant grin. "No one likes a sore loser, Jafar."

"…" Moving his hand away, Jafar exposes his bloodshot eye. "Are you still under the impression that you're walking away from this? Need I remind you that my magical prowess far surpasses yours?" Turning his scepter on the Reflect keeping him in, Jafar unleashes a stream of elemental power that ruptures the bubble within seconds.

"!"

"I don't need to kill you. All I need do is leave you here and let the slow acerbities of starvation and delirium take hold of you. Enjoy eternity, boy. Hahahaha!" The vizier vanishes in a cloud of red smoke, his malicious laughter fading with him.

Ciel falls back onto the ground, sitting upright and winded. Though he succeeded in preventing Jafar from obtaining the magic lamp, he wasn't as proficient with teleportation as Jafar was. And any forceful attempts to break through the ceiling would surely result in another cave-in. Would he never escape?, Ciel wondered. Would he never see his friends and home again? If the hunger didn't get to him first, the solitude most certainly would. Looking ahead, the young Key bearer examines what was likely to be his coffin…

…until a glimmer in a distance catches his eye.

"…Is that…?" Jumping to his feet, Ciel heads toward the glimmer, discovering something jutting out from under the earth at its source. He digs through the dirt with his fingernails and stumbles upon… "…The lamp!"

Coated in a thin layer of soil and sand, the magic lamp sought by Jafar now rest in the Keyblade master's palms.

Ciel leans on a cave wall and takes a moment to examine the relic. To him, it looked like nothing more than a worthless, worn-out trinket. "Hmm… Three wishes, huh…?" As he sinks into a state of deep thought, he strokes the side of the lamp with his thumb. "Well… Right now, all I want is see my friends again… I never even got Claire a birthday present…"

Reacting to Ciel's touch and heartfelt wish, the lamp begins to glow a bright shade of red.

And in that instant, Ciel could swear he heard laughter. "Huh? What's…? W-Whoa!" A strange force suddenly picks Ciel up off the ground and wraps him in blue smoke and flashy fireworks. "What is this?" To severely dizzying effect, Ciel could feel himself being moved elsewhere. All slowly becomes brighter and dustier, and he's dropped back onto the ground. "Ugh… What the heck just happened…? …Huh?"

The teal-haired teen rubs his eyes to make sure they weren't playing tricks on him. Somehow, he was picked up out of the sealed cavern and set down right in front of the _NORA_.

Moreover, the lamp had disappeared from his hands.

Ciel was at a profound loss for words. "What just…? How did…? Who…? …_HUH?_"

Like a whisper on the desert wind, the odd laughter that Ciel had heard moments ago fades into the distance.

"…Was that…the genie…?", Ciel speculates. Facing forward, he looks up at the _NORA_ cockpit. It was no illusion or trick of the light. His wish had been answered. "…Well, whatever happened, I guess I should be grateful it did.", says the boy with a shrug as he boards the Gummi Ship.

Talking tiger heads, an ancient treasure, and a lamp that grants wishes? Aside from Wonderland, this adventure definitely ranks as one of the strangest Ciel has ever experienced.


	9. Report 9: Second Star to the Right

**Disclaimer**: Story loosely based on Disney's _Return to Never Land_. Kingdom Hearts is a trademark of Square-Enix and Disney. Any similarities between this and other works submitted are purely coincidental.

* * *

_Twinkle, twinkle, little star… Lead us to the land we dream of…_

_**Kingdom Hearts ~another side~**_

**~ Report 9: Second Star to the Right ~**

The island paradise of green and blue that is Never Land. The gentlest of waves beat against the isle shores as clouds and rainbows stretch across the cerulean daytime sky. The air carried with it the bitter scent of saltwater. At one end of the archipelago, a red and gold pirate ship continually laps the coast of a small cove, like a mountain lion waiting patiently for its prey to come out of hiding. The passage of time waits for no man, least of all the crew of the Jolly Roger.

"Step lively, men!", yells the captain of the vessel in all his mustached, red-coated splendor. As he shakes his hooked left hand in deep-seated anger, he continues, "Load all cannons! Be ready to fire on my command! We'll draw that accursed Pan out even if we must blast this entire island to smithereens! I'll have his head plastered on me wall by day's end!"

One disenchanted pirate says under his breath, "Sure… As if we hadn't heard that before…"

But not silently enough as to not be overheard. "Oh, a thousand pardons, Mr. Starkey.", says the captain. "Does my crusade against Peter Pan not interest you?"

The pirate Starkey spins around to face his captain, holding his quivering arms to his sides. "Y-Yes! I-I mean, no, Cap'n Hook!", he panickily stammers. "I meant no disrespect!"

Captain Hook, feigning empathy, says, "No, no. You're right. It has become rather monotonous, hasn't it? It's a bit of excitement ye seek, correct?"

"W-Well…"

"Then here…" Hook suddenly reverses his sympathetic smile into a sinister scowl, coiling his hook hand through Starkey's collar. "…See if the sharks have the excitement ye crave!" Hoisting Starkey up, Hook proceeds to fling his body overboard and into the water. Starkey's fear-filled scream echoes for a second before being cut short by a splash. The not-to-be-trifled-with Hook shows his hook hand to the rest of the crew with, "And any who question my authority shall join him!"

The crew responds with a scattered, "Aye-aye, cap'n!"

As he leans on the edge of the ship, Hook brings his right hand up and rubs his temple in silent pain; his 'crusade' and Pan-induced stress had apparently brought him frequent migraines. "Oh, me poor nerves…", he groans.

Then, almost on cue, in enters Hook's dutiful first mate: the short, stocky Mr. Smee. He runs up to his captain rather hastily. "Cap'n! Cap'n!", he cries. "We have a situation!"

"What is it _now_, Mr. Smee?", Hook wearily asks.

"We have a stowaway on the ship!"

This news jerks Captain Hook out of his headache fit and fully alert. "What? Is it Pan?"

"No, sir! A little boy! Perhaps one of the Lost Boys! The men are giving chase below deck as we speak!"

"One of the Lost Boys, you say?", Hook mutters through his grin, the gears in his mind starting to turn. Shoving Mr. Smee aside, he approaches a primitive form of loudspeaker and broadcasts his voice throughout his ship. "Attention, all hands!", he starts. "A hundred doubloons to whomever brings the boy to me! He's to be captured alive!"

With thoughts of such a reward swirling in their heads, the pirates of Captain Hook's crew storm the holds of the ship in search of the Lost Boy.

Hiding inside a random cabin, the stowaway – Roche – peeks outside through narrow slits in the door, taking care to duck away when a pirate goes by. 'Pirates!', the kid mentally exclaims. 'This would be kinda cool if I weren't about to be keelhauled!' Before long, the sounds of swinging swords and frenzied footsteps die down, and Roche is able to sneak out of the cabin and into the corridor. With his Keyblade at the ready, he moves about the ship as stealthily as possible. 'This whole jumping-from-one-world-to-the-next thing is getting to be a drag! How many more worlds do I gotta go through to get home? And where the heck are Ciel and Sis? Bet they're off having the time of their lives on some beach world or something!'

During this diatribe of a mad Keyblade wielder, Roche reaches a junction in the corridor where, at one end, he's spotted by a pirate duo. "Hey, there he is!", says one pirate to the other. "After 'im!"

"Uh-oh!" Roche throws the Keyblade out in front of him and generates a wall of frost between himself and the pirates and races down the other path in the crossroads. Briefly looking back, he watches as the pirates break the wall down and immediately slip on the shattered ice, having a short laugh at this display. In his inattentiveness, however, he runs smack-dab into another pirate. Before the buccaneer could snatch the boy up, Roche rolls between his legs and pops back up at his rear, using a bit more Blizzard magic to freeze the pirate's feet in place. He bolts away once more, dodging small pirate groupings at every turn, until he reaches the deck of the ship…

…where Captain Hook lie in wait with the rest of his crew.

Even with the power of the Keyblade on his side, Roche would have difficulty facing a crew of upwards of thirty people.

As a couple of pirates at the forefront of the group step to the side, the man in the feathered hat walks up to greet the teenager. "Is this him?", he asks his first mate.

"Yes, sir, cap'n!", Mr. Smee eagerly replies. "He fits the description to a T!"

Hook strokes his chin with the back of his hook hand, appearing initially puzzled. "He's no Lost Boy I've seen before. No doubt the latest of that Pan's youth-clinging recruits.", he deduces. Meeting Roche's eye to address him, Hook asks, "How did you get aboard my ship, brat?"

Lowering his guard for a moment, Roche awkwardly answers, "Well, it's not like I planned on it. I just wound up here by accident."

"Is that a fact…?", the unconvinced Hook mutters. With a snap of his fingers, he orders his crew to… "Take him."

In response, the thirty-odd pirates all draw their cutlasses on the lad.

"!" Roche prepares to defend himself with the Superquake, but is held by his skinny arms by a broad-shouldered pirate that had snuck around to his back. "H-Hey! Put me down! I told you, it was an accident!"

As he takes out a handkerchief to polish his hook, the captain continues, "Throw him in the brig. Bind his hands and legs so he can't escape."

The burly buccaneer carries the kicking and shouting Roche back below deck toward the brig.

Baffled by this course of action, Smee addresses the captain. "Why detain one of the Lost Boys, cap'n? Isn't Peter Pan our intended quarry?"

"In due time, Mr. Smee.", Hook responds. "For now…I'd like you to take a letter."

…Meanwhile, somewhere on the east end of the archipelago, a pair of young boys – one dressed as a fox, the other as a bear – marches down the cliff path toward the lagoon, and the jungle just beyond it, while whistling a jaunty marching tune. Well-adjusted to their life in Never Land, the two exude a positive air that came only with years of childish fun and mischief. On their way to their hideout, a rather out-of-place sound catches the boy in the bear costume's attention: the high-pitched whistle made by an object as it falls from the sky. Looking up, however, wasn't his first notion. Upon glancing around his immediate vicinity, he turns to his friend. "Hey, Slightly, you hear somethin'?", he manages to ask just before…

…an object from above hits the top of his head with a deafening clunk. "_OW!_" 'Bear Boy' goes down in a heartbeat.

"Hmm?" Slightly, the kid in the fox outfit, turns around to find his companion rubbing his head in pain. "Aw, c'mon, Cubby! Lying on the job _again_?"

"I'm not lyin'!", Cubby defends. "Somethin' hard hit me on the head!"

Looking down at his feet, Slightly finds a small cork-sealed bottle. He kneels down to pick it up and discovers a piece of paper inside. "What's this…?" The bottle makes a soft pop as Slightly uncorks it, and he pulls the paper out to read it. "…!" A gasp escapes Slightly's lips upon completing the message. "Oh, no! This is bad! C'mon, Cubby! We gotta find Peter, and quick!" With both bottle and message in hand, Slightly races toward the hideout.

"Hey! W-Wait for me!" Cubby rolls onto his feet in a turtle-like manner and scampers after.

Back on Captain Hook's ship, a commotion is stirred below deck, to the frustration of any pirates nearby. From behind the resilience of a cabin door, Roche throws a fit of ramming his shoulder into the door and pounding it with his feet; he was physically capable of little else with his wrists and ankles bound. Ignoring the soreness this brings him, he shrieks at those outside, "Let me out! I've been locked up enough for one adventure! _ARGH!_"

The pirates standing guard outside the brig lower their eyebrows in aggravation. Remarks one to the other, "We shoulda taped his mouth shut."

"You'd better hope I don't get out of here…", Roche continues, "…'cuz if I do, I'm kicking all your butts!"

"Pipe down in there before we make ya!"

As the young Key bearer persists in his tantrum, a commotion of lesser magnitude is stirred deep in the heart of the Never Land jungle. In the center of a clearing stands a misshapen tree with no leaves. Most of its branches had long been sawed off and made into crude entrances that lead underground. The interior of the tree and a radius of several meters beneath it were hollowed out for a hideout to be made.

Inside this hideout, Lost Boys Slightly and Cubby meet with their leader: the flying boy in green and the bane of Captain Hook's existence, Peter Pan. "What?", Peter cries, leaping to his feet. "Hook's taken Nibs prisoner?"

"That's what it says in the note we found!", explains Slightly, holding up the note in question. "'Peter Pan, I've captured one of your precious Lost Boys. If you wish him returned safely, meet me on Skull Rock before sunset to arrange an exchange. Yours in enmity, James Hook. Dictated, not read.'"

"Poor Nibs…", Cubby sulks. "He must be really scared…"

Just then, a sparkle of golden light enters and flies swiftly around the trio, leaving behind it a trail of yellow dust. The sparkle pauses midflight before Peter's face, revealing itself to be a beautiful blonde fairy in a tiny green dress and green slippers.

"Hmm? What is it, 'Tink'?", asks Peter, addressing the little fairy.

The fairy named 'Tink' flies over to the other end of the hideout, casting her fairy light on a third Lost Boy sleeping soundly in a hammock. Like Slightly and Cubby's fondness for dressing up like animals, this boy wears the long ears, floppy feet, and fluffy tail of a rabbit. His buckteeth made the ensemble all the more authentic.

"…NIBS!", Peter, Slightly, and Cubby shout in chorus…

…jerking the rabbit kid from his slumber. "What? Who? What's going on? What'd I miss?"

Peter scratches his head in bewilderment. "That's weird. If all the Lost Boys are here, who does Hook have captured?"

"It's gotta be a trick!", suggests Slightly. "He wants to lure us into a trap!"

"A trap, eh?" Oddly enough, the thought brings a grin to Pan's lips. "Heh! Sounds like fun!"

Slightly and Cubby look to each other with baffled expressions. "…Huh?"

…Just under an hour later, Captain Hook is seen inside the cavern on Skull Rock with an escort consisting of Mr. Smee and ten other pirates. Two of the pirates stand near Roche, whose entire upper body was bound with rope. As Hook and his escorts await the arrival of Peter Pan and his band of merry boys, the captain taps his foot on the damp cave floor. Reaching into an inner coat pocket, Hook pulls out a gold pocket watch and observes the time. "…Three minutes 'til sunset."

"What shall we do with the prisoner…", Mr. Smee starts, "…if Pan doesn't show up, cap'n?"

Hook reassures, "Oh, he'll show. If there's one thing that scurvy brat values more than a good game, it's the well-being of his little playmates. And if not…we throw him to the sharks."

Roche goes cold with fear. Captain Hook was a pirate in the darkest sense of the word. He was cruel, cunning, calculating, and wasn't above dishing out his brand of piracy to children. Roche could only pray that this Peter Pan makes an appearance. "…"

"Captain!", one pirate shouts, pointing his index finger skyward. "Look up there!"

All eyes in the cave turn up, and the party looks on as Peter Pan and the Lost Boys enter through the right eye of the 'skull'. Roche's eyes widen with surprise as the four arrive by self-propelled flight. "T-They're flying…!"

In the order of Peter, Slightly, Nibs, and (ungracefully) Cubby, the airborne children descend and land across from Hook and his crew.

"Ah, Peter Pan. So considerate of you to join us.", Hook hisses. "I'd almost given up hope you wouldn't come."

Peter retorts, "Well, that wouldn't have been very nice. Especially after getting your invitation."

"Look, Pan! That's gotta be the other Lost Boy!", says Slightly, clearly referring to Roche.

"Why, yes. Good eye, lad. …I offer you this, Peter Pan. Surrender yourself over to me…" As he talks, Hook ruffles Roche's hair with his hand. "…and I let your little friend here go free. Refuse and, well… Heh. You see where I'm going with this, I'm sure."

Peter meets Roche's eye for a moment… "…"

"…"

…and eventually decides, "…Nah."

"…What?"

With a shrug and a turn away, Pan elaborates, "He's no friend of mine. Never seen him before in my life. Do whatever you want with him."

Hook and Roche's jaws drop at this remark. "Oh, _come on_!", the boy whines. "I don't wanna be fish food!"

The sparrow's sudden aloofness had caught Hook off-guard, but it hadn't made the pirate captain any more pleasant. "Grrrr… You'll not make a fool of me this day, boy! Look sharp, men! Kill the whole lot of–" Hook's wrath is cut short as the Lost Boys' fairy friend 'Tink' flutters around him and his crew. He brings his hand up to swat her as if she were a fly. "Argh! Blasted pixie!"

"Ha-ha! Alright, Tinker Bell!", Nibs excitedly cheers.

While Tinker Bell entertains the pirate crew with her aerial elegance, Slightly sneaks around to Roche's back and undoes the knots in the ropes binding him. "Hold still! I'll get ya outta this!"

"You're helping me…?", a surprised Roche queries.

"Sure! Peter says it's all part o' the game!"

"'Game'? …Ah! Behind you!"

Slightly notices a large shadow being cast over him, and just out of the corner of his eye, he sees a cutlass-wielding pirate closing in. "!"

In the mere seconds that followed, Roche wriggles his way out of the loosened rope, draws the Keyblade, hops to his feet, and delivers a violent horizontal slash to the looming pirate's chest. The brute falls back from the attack and hits the ground harshly.

"…Wow…"

"You can be impressed later, okay? Let's go help your friends!"

"Right!"

Near the other end of the cavern, Peter fends off the offensive of a pirate trio, meeting two-foot-long sword with six-inch dagger. With some well-placed footing and fluid arm swings, the boy in green tights holds his own in spite of the three-to-one handicap.

Nibs and Cubby, on the other hand, employ a number of childish tactics that include tripping the pirates over, pulling their hats down over their eyes, making them dizzy, and firing upon them with rocks and slingshots. While these tactics prove effective to some extent, it isn't until Roche jumps in with the Keyblade that the pirates are ultimately removed from the equation.

After a bout of feverish fly-swatting, Captain Hook finally manages to snatch Tinker Bell out of the air and seize her petite form in his fingers. As much as the enraged captain would've loved to clip the fairy's wings then and there, a cold and wet sensation at his ankles turns his attention downward. Seawater had begun to fill the cavern. "Drat! We're out of time, it would seem! Fall back to the shores, men! To the boats!"

"Aye-aye, cap'n!" By Hook's leave, the pirates start to make for the entrance to Skull Rock, but not before claiming their initially intended quarry: Peter Pan in iron shackles. With Peter in tow, the crew drags him toward the shore by his collar.

"Peter!"

"Tinker Bell!"

"Get back here, Hook!", Roche shouts, immediately giving chase.

As soon as the entrance divides them, Hook briefly turns back to the Lost Boys in the cavern and draws a flintlock pistol. Aiming it at Roche at first, he angles it upward and fires a single shot. The bullet ignites a stick of dynamite that, in turn, ignites a number of additional strategically-placed explosives. Once set off, a series of adjoining explosions causes the Skull Rock entrances to give way, and the falling rubble plugs them shut, trapping Roche and the Lost Boys inside.

"No!", Peter cries in horror, feeling utterly helpless.

"Hmph. That takes care of that.", the satisfied Hook says to himself. Pocketing his firearm, he removes his feathered hat to bow courteously. "Enjoy the rising tide, kiddies."

Tinker Bell becomes furious at this deed, lighting her whole body aglow with a passionate shade of red. The intense heat generated by her form burns Hook's hand…

"YOW!"

…allowing her to fly up and away.

One pirate unsheathes his sword at this… "She's gettin' away!"

…but Hook holds out his hand to cut him off. "Leave her. She's but a little sprite. She can't help them. Not now. …Come! To the ship!"

"Aye, cap'n."

As Peter is dragged away by his collar and thrown onto a rowboat bound for Hook's pirate ship, he watches helplessly as Skull Rock falls further and further into the distance. "…"

On the other side of the cave-in, Roche tries to break through the wall of stone with the Keyblade but to little effect, especially with the tide having come in at torso level and rising still at a rate of a foot a minute. "Argh! It's no good!", Roche gripes. "The water's too high!"

Nearby, Nibs climbs onto Cubby's shoulders, much to the chubby kid's discomfort. "Hey! What are you doin'?"

"I dunno how to swim, dummy!"

Roche dives below the surface to take another whack at the wall, but finds his blows are softened due to the water. He shortly resurfaces to catch his breath. "It's no use…!", he concedes between breaths. "I just…can't break through it…!"

"What are we gonna do…?", asks Slightly as the despair starts to set in.

Glancing above him, Roche observes a rocky ledge that seemed capable of supporting several people. He jumps up to grab the ledge with both hands. "Come on! Climb up!", he then directs to the Lost Boys.

The three quickly paddle over and use Roche as a ladder to climb onto the ledge. Once the three are safe from the rising water, Roche lets go of the ledge and falls back in. "What about you?", a nervous Nibs inquires.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm gonna get us outta this."

"How? You steal one o' Hook's bombs?"

"Nope…but I've got something just as good! Wait here!" Roche takes a deep breath and dives back beneath the surface of the water.

"Y'know…", starts Slightly. "For someone who isn't a Lost Boy, he's kinda cool, huh?"

"Heh-heh! Yup!"

Roche swims down to the wall of stone once more and readies the Superquake. But rather than swing at it again, he holds it out horizontally in front of him and presses his palm to the blade. The weapon begins to pour out a steady flow of energy that swirls in a sphere before him; what starts out as a freeform magical flame soon takes the shape of a large disc. Roche affixes the disc to the wall – it clings to the submerged rock almost magnetically – and immediately backs away several feet. He puts the Keyblade away, shuts his eyes tightly, and covers his ears.

The disc, and the condensed magic within, detonates just moments later, engulfing the stone wall in miraculous fire. Through the crumbling barrier, seawater bursts forth from the skull and unites with the ocean outside.

From the Lost Boys' viewpoint, the water level drops within seconds, encouraging their cheers. They promptly jump from the ledge and float down to Roche's side with joyful shouts of "Yay" and "Hooray!"

Upon catching his breath, Roche rises to his feet. "Heh. Glad you guys are okay. Now c'mon, let's go save Peter!" The Keyblade kid makes for the shores…

…but stops short of a full sprint when Slightly calls out, "Wait!"

"H-Huh? What is it?"

"The only way off Skull Rock is by boat or by flying. And I bet Hook took all the boats when he left."

"Oh… That _is_ a problem… And I sure as heck can't fly…" Just then, a spark of gold swoops in from above and encircles Roche before stopping to hover before him. "Ah! Tinker Bell!"

The Lost Boys all give a sly smirk. "We can help with that."

…Cut to Hook's ship in the cove, where a most harrowing scene unfolds. Lost Boy leader and spirit of youth Peter Pan stands at the edge of the plank, his hands bound by rope and tied to an anchor. The briny deep below swirls with black and turquoise malice. To his rear, a band of pirates stood with swords at the ready, effectively giving the boy a choice of drowning or being skewered. To the pirates' rear was Hook, with whom Peter shares a look of resentment.

"Oh, 'tis a glorious day, is it not, Mr. Smee?", asks Hook to his stout first mate. "With this, I'll be rid of all the Lost Boys, and it's not even suppertime."

"Oh, yes, cap'n!" replies the brownnosing Smee. "'Tis quite a grand day to be a pirate!"

"Hehehe. Indeed it is. And now for the icing on the cake… Any last words before ye take the plunge, Pan?"

With a grin, Peter responds, "Yeah. Can I at least change into my swimsuit first?"

Hook indulges Peter's try at humor with a derisive chuckle. "Complaisant to a fault, I see. Glad to know seconds away from certain death doesn't make you any less so. By all means, have your laugh. It makes none the difference to me…for it is _I_ who shall laugh last!"

"_That's what you think, Hook!_"

"!" Hook's eyes, as well as those of his crew, shift upward where they happen upon a silhouette standing atop the yard. "Who dares?" The glare of the setting Never Land sun dies away, and Roche comes into view. "Swoggle me eyes! You?"

In a feat of athleticism, Roche leaps from the yard to the rope shroud, riding it down to the port-side bulwark. Here, he points his Keyblade on Hook and his men. "Alright, you old codfish!", he snaps. "I'll be taking Peter back now!"

After a short awkward silence, Captain Hook and his crew have themselves a hearty laugh at the teen's expense. During this, Hook challenges, "You and what navy, boy?"

"…Funny you should ask.", Roche comments.

At that moment, Tinker Bell emerges from behind him and soars forth, fluttering about Hook's airspace and playfully mocking him, initiating a repeat performance of their earlier altercation. In enters Slightly, Nibs, and Cubby as well, serving to distract the crew's numbers with their antics.

In the meantime, Roche jumps to the plank and cuts Peter loose. "Ahhh, much better! Thanks!"

"Don't mention it."

As Hook is led up and down the deck of the ship through Tinker Bell's dizzying flight patterns, he calls out, "Smee! Don't just stand there, ya blithering idiot! Do something!"

"R-Right away, cap'n!" Smee rushes to his captain's side and, through a bit of clumsy hopping and jumping, manages to snare Tinker Bell in his hat… "Gotcha!" …if only for a second or two. Despite her tiny physique, the ensnared Tink flies in such a way that carries Smee backward over the ship and onto a lifeboat.

Even the pint-sized Lost Boys have little difficulty driving the members of Hook's pirate crew overboard – some through the use of gunpowder barrels, some by having them go after pieces of Hook's treasure by tossing them into the sea. The power of greed wasn't to be underestimated, it seemed.

With his crew dwindled to himself alone, Hook is confronted by Roche and Peter Pan. "It's over, Hook!", young Roche asserts.

Captain Hook grits his teeth and meets Roche's Keyblade and Pan's dagger with a gold-handled rapier. "Nay, boy! It's not over until I've won! I'll see you two bilge rats walk the plank yet!"

Hook lunges forward with a flurry of rapier slashes and thrusts to slice his foes to ribbons; Roche counteracts with a show of Ars Arcanum. During this, Peter Pan zips around to Hook's backside and attacks with his dagger. Hook brings his other arm around and greets Peter's blade with his hook hand. As Roche's assault closes, Hook swipes at Pan with an upward sword slash – Peter backs away in time for the blade's tip to cut into his shirt – and quickly shifts his focus back to Roche. A furious meeting between rapier and Keyblade ensues, and Roche is pushed rearward due to the pirate captain's superior swordsmanship. With a boot to Roche's chest, Hook knocks the boy down and turns to see Pan approaching. Reaching into his coat, Hook pulls out a small gift box and throws it in Peter's face. Within moments of its being thrown, the box – concealing an explosive – detonates. While the young sparrow fights off a coughing fit due to the smoke, Hook takes advantage of his disorientation by lunging forth and pinning Peter to the mainmast by his neck. With sword in hand, Hook prepares to finish the job, but not before Roche hops to his feet and sets the cantankerous captain's pantaloons aflame with a Fire spell. With a pained yelp, Hook sprints wildly up and down the ship's deck as fire and smoke stream from the seat of his pants. The Lost Boys have a laugh at this comical scene as they watch from the quarterdeck. Upon dousing the fire in a bucket of water, Hook returns to battle with a look of mortified hatred. Jumping behind one of the deck cannons, he takes aim at Roche, firing upon him with a barrage of cannonballs. It was now Roche's turn to bolt up and down the ship's deck, for fear of being hit. The Lost Boys take to the air as Hook shows regard to nothing in his cannon-firing rampage. With nowhere to go but up, Roche ascends the starboard-side shroud to the yardarm, balancing himself on the narrow wooden beam. Hook shortly joins him atop the beam and challenges him with his rapier, thus ensuing a second clash of blades. Again, Hook has the advantage of being the better swordsman, pushing Roche back toward the edge of the beam. With a well-placed thrust and swipe, Hook knocks the Keyblade out of Roche's hand, causing it to fall into the sea below. A weaponless Roche stares down the length of Hook's sword.

"…Give up, boy.", the near-victorious captain snarls.

Roche bares a confident smirk and answers, "…Never."

"Tch! Then _perish_!", Hook roars, driving his blade forward.

Leaning backward to avoid the attack, Roche transitions into a backflip off the yardarm and takes the plunge.

"Odd's fish!", Hook exclaims in shock.

As he dives down to the sea, Roche suddenly calls out, "_TINKER BELL!_"

At Roche's beckon, Tinker Bell swoops in from the side and circles around him several times, bathing him in the light of her pixie dust.

Roche closes his eyes and leaves the rest to fate.

Peter, Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, and Captain Hook look on with bated breath.

"…!" Mere milliseconds before hitting the water, Roche bears an abrupt north and takes flight! He coasts the water's surface, briefly touching it with his hand, before gaining altitude. Like Pan and the Lost Boys before him, Roche is granted the miraculous gift of flight.

Slightly, Nibs, and Cubby congratulate him from a distance with their jubilant cheers.

Even Roche himself couldn't help but give a cry of, "WHOO-HOO! I'M FLYING! THIS IS SO AWESOME!"

"Grrrr… Blast him, you swabs!", Hook shrieks at his crew. "Blast him out of the sky!"

After making their way back onto the ship, several of the pirates take aim at Roche with the deck cannons and fire upon him. With his new ability, however, Roche is able to evade the incoming cannonballs with ease. The airborne teen holds his hand out to recover the Superquake and fires back upon the cannons with Fire and Thunder, disabling and preventing further use of them. "Is that all you've got, Hook?", boasts Roche from above.

"Argh!"

"In that case, _I've_ got a little something for _you_!" With a twirl of the Keyblade, Roche points it up to the heavens. Moments later, a massive hunk of burning rock descends from the vastness of space and enters Never Land's atmosphere. Then, with a downward motion of his arm, Roche drops the meteor onto Hook's ship; it tears greedily through the deck of the ship, below deck, the hold, and out through the underside of the hull and into the sea. With this, the ship takes on an immense quantity of water and starts to sink.

As he clenches to the mast for dear life, Hook wails, "My ship!"

The once-great Jolly Roger sinks beneath the depths, leaving nothing behind but a few planks of red- and gold-painted wood.

As he floats upon one, Hook raises his hook hand in anger and vows, "I'll get you for this, if it's the last thing I–" Again cut off in midsentence, Hook's attention is drawn toward an out-of-place but frighteningly familiar sound: the tick-tock, tick-tock of an alarm clock. "…Oh, no…" Hook slowly turns his head to face the sound's source…

…and is stared down by a pair of hungry yellow eyes and a scaly green snout.

"No… No! Go away, you reptilian menace!" Hook turns tail and beats a hasty retreat from the Crocodile, his panicked howl of "_**SMEE!**_" echoing across the waters.

The Lost Boys rejoice in their victory over Hook with a chant of "_Hook is a codfish, a codfish, a codfish!_", while Roche and Peter Pan share a celebratory high-five.

"…Attention! Fall in!"

A short while later, just outside their hideout, the Lost Boys decide to conclude their adventure with a ceremony for Roche. The three stand shoulder-to-shoulder a couple feet behind Roche, while Peter stands in front of him wearing a bejeweled crown and holding up a simple sword. Tinker Bell is seen perched on Peter's shoulder. "In honor…", starts Peter, "…of your courage, determination, fighting skill, and for just being plain cool, I hereby proclaim you, Roche…a Lost Boy!" Peter christens Roche with the sword as one of royal standing would bestow knighthood upon another. "…Congratulations! You're one of us now!"

Slightly, Nibs, Cubby, and Tinker Bell cheer for Roche once more as Peter dons him with a fur hood with mouse ears. "Heh! Cool! I still can't believe I flew! I can't wait to tell… Oh…"

"…What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just… I just remembered there's something I still need to do."

"Awww… Does that mean you're leavin'…?", whines Cubby.

"Hey, c'mon. Look sharp. Lost Boys are supposed to be tough, aren't they?"

"Yeah…"

"I'll come back soon. And when I do, we'll go on the biggest adventure ever! Deal?"

"Deal!"

"Hands in, guys!", says Roche, holding out his hand. Slightly places his hand on top of Roche's, Nibs places his on top of Slightly's, Cubby's on top of Nibs', and Peter Pan's on top of Cubby's. "'Lost Boys, now and forever' on three! One…two…_three_!"

"_**LOST BOYS, NOW AND FOREVER!**_"


	10. Report 10: Cacophony

Yeah, I changed my Pen Name. Why? Because I felt like it. Big whoop, wanna fight about it? …Nah, but seriously, I've wanted to change it for a while now; only recently did a Jersey friend convince me to finally go through with it.

So, a couple notes about this chapter:

1) In the first draft, I was gonna have Marin encounter Glut (the shark from the first Kingdom Hearts) shortly after arriving in Atlantica, but I felt it was a little left-field, considering the movie this chapter's based on, so I left it out.

2) Also in the first draft, Ursula was absent, but I decided to include her and experiment with the plot point mentioned in the first The Little Mermaid that she once lived in Triton's palace before being exiled. She isn't exiled in this story, but it takes place before she is.

Anyways, enjoy. 3 chapters to go!

**Disclaimer**: Story based on Disney's _The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning_. Lyrics to Marin's song are from Final Fantasy XIII's_ Serah's Theme (Overseas Version)_. Kingdom Hearts is a trademark of Square-Enix and Disney. Any similarities between this and other works submitted are purely coincidental.

* * *

_The waves roll low, and the waves roll high… And so it goes, under a bright, blue, endless sky…_

_**Kingdom Hearts ~another side~**_

**~ Report 10: Cacophony ~**

The solitude one experiences when traversing the Lanes Between alone can be a cruel mistress. The red-haired Marin is no exception. From behind the controls of the Gummi Ship _Nautilus_, she stares blankly into the violet blackness that stretched far outside the cockpit. Occupying her were thoughts of how Ciel and Roche were faring by themselves, how Claire, Snow, and Serah were doing back home, and how she was going to deal with Relena once she found her. Marin exhales a lonely sigh, longing for the warmth and comfort of home.

When a sporadic beeping noise drags her from her thoughts, Marin looks down at the console in front of her. "Coming up on another world…", she says to herself. "Is three gonna be my lucky number?" Marin brings the Nautilus to a halt and rises from her seat to look down at the world she now orbited.

On the exterior, it resembled a large dome of rock. Through a gap in the dome, a great undersea realm is shown.

Marin blinks a couple of times. "Is that…?" Returning to the cockpit seat, she double-checks her instrument readings. The results of the analysis come to her as a bit of a surprise. "This world – it's over 90% water! A world that's almost completely underwater…?" Seemed like the kind of place one would only visit on vacation, Marin thought. Somehow, she couldn't imagine Relena, Ciel, or Roche visiting such a world at this time. Well, maybe Relena, if only to roast some fish. "…Yeah, that sounds about right. But how am I supposed to find out? If I'm down there for longer than a few minutes, I'll drown!" After a bit of deep thinking, Marin holds her hand out and draws the Deepest Blue. "Hmm… I wonder…"

…Cut to a moderately spacious valley of sand and rock. Walls of black stalagmite border it, and barnacle-covered rocks and small beds of seaweed line the ground within it. A school of rainbow fish swims through, but they disperse to the depths when a small portal of light appears at the valley's south end. The portal initially expels a cluster of air bubbles, and just moments later, it opens wide for Marin to shoot through. The light fades away immediately afterward.

Marin enters the undersea world with a new form granted her: doing away with her shirt and tank top, she wears a brassiere of white seashells. Moreover, her long and slender legs had fused into a single cerulean fish tail (matching the color of her jeans) with dorsal and caudal fins of a lighter lucent sky-blue. Finally, like in Halloween Town, she let her long auburn hair down as opposed to having it up in a ponytail.

Marin finds herself in awe of her mermaid form; the limitless magical potential of the Keyblade truly amazed her. "Hah! I can't believe that worked!", she exclaims. "This is just so– W-Whoa!"

Taking a pause from her awestruck state, Marin flails her arms about awkwardly as she attempts to adjust to her new form. "Hehehe… This may take some getting used to." The mermaid Marin spends the next few minutes becoming accustomed to her half-fish form, learning how to kick, swim, and navigate using a mermaid's tail.

After just over six minutes, Marin floats down to the center of the valley in a spiraling flourish, satisfied with her session of 'Mermaids 101'. "Ahhh! Much better!", she says to herself. "…?" Just then, something just barely inside her field of vision draws her interest: a glimmer of light toward the east, and the faint echo of musical notes from the same location. "What's that…?", Marin wondered. Before she realized it, her tail was carrying her in the direction of the glimmer.

Little by little the glimmer glows brighter, and past a wall of swaying kelp, Marin finds herself in a small grotto where the rocks shone like crystals. After several moments of looking at her own reflection, Marin approaches the back end of the grotto and happens upon a tiny crater in the ground. Inside, she discovers the source of the musical echo she heard earlier: a blue and gold music box. She picks it up and opens it to hear its lovely melody. As it plays, an image appears – an image of a tall, well-built merman dancing with a beautiful, long-haired mermaid. The image seems to hypnotize, as Marin is momentarily enraptured by it and its accompanying song. "…!" The redhead is only brought out of her trance when a trio of Screwdivers closes in. With a sigh, she mutters, "Some things never change…" Marin tucks the box away, readies the Keyblade, and meets the Heartless halfway. "Okay then! Bring it!"

Elsewhere, in a shining underwater kingdom far west of Marin's location, a place that serves as home to dozens of other mermen and mermaids, a despondent ruler sits atop his throne. He had deep blue eyes, long brown hair with traces of stress-induced gray, a thick beard and moustache, and wore a yellow five-pointed crown and golden studded gauntlets on his wrists. The man was also considerably well muscled, and his tail was a dark shade of blue.

In his presence stood a small red crab with large claws and three pairs of legs and a somewhat portly _cecaelia_ (half-human woman, half-octopus) with lavender skin, stark white hair, and far too much makeup.

Raising his head to address the two before him, the king speaks aloud. "Ahem! …Good morning, Sebastian, Ursula."

With a bow, the crab Sebastian and squid woman Ursula say in return, "Good morning, King Triton."

"Anything to report?", asks Triton.

"Nothing of particular note, your Highness.", Ursula replies. "All sectors are currently operating at average efficiency. Productivity is 5% lower than projected, but I attribute that to the situation outside the palace."

"Speaking of which…", Sebastian interrupts, "…the Swordfish Patrol are keeping da creatures at bay, but dey be multiplying by the hour. We don't know where dey all be coming from, mon. Da people have all been advised to stay indoors."

King Triton brings up his hand and rubs his temple with a groan. "Those infernal monsters have been trying to penetrate Atlantica's walls for nearly a year now. For each one we destroy, five more appear on our doorstep."

"If I may, King Triton.", Ursula starts again. "I've been researching the creatures for some time now, and I believe my spells hold the answer we–"

"Enough, Ursula. I'll hear no more of your solutions involving _black magic_."

"But, your Highness–"

"I said enough. Now please…you are dismissed."

"…As you wish, my King." With that, Ursula takes her leave of the throne room aside Sebastian with a sour look. "Is it just me, or is he even crankier than usual today?"

Lowering his head, Sebastian says, "Can ya blame him? After all, it _is_ the anniversary…"

"…Out of my way!"

Heartless after Heartless fall by Marin's blade as she makes her way through the western seas. Regardless of how many she destroys, more emerge from the darkness to meet her. Rather than meet their challenge individually, Marin refuses to stop moving, slicing through waves of Sea Neons and Screwdivers that hinder her path and swerving to avoid parties of Sheltering Zones and Aquatanks where necessary. "Jeez, what's with all the Heartless in this place?", she gripes. "I bet a certain blonde psycho is behind this mess! …ARGH! GET LOST ALREADY!"

As her escape from the Heartless leads Marin further and further west, Triton's kingdom of gold comes into view. For a moment, it reminded her of Princess Aurora's castle, but with more of an aquatic beauty. The closer Marin gets, the fewer in number the Heartless became. This, however, spoke not for the few Heartless that remained on her tail in hot pursuit. "Tch! Don't these guys ever give up?"

"_Hey! You there!_"

"Huh?" Glancing ahead, Marin makes eye contact with a pair of sharp-billed swordfish. "More of them?", she grumbles, immediately assuming the worst.

Fortunately, the girl's fears are laid to rest when one of them calls out, "Hurry inside! We'll hold 'em off!"

"No fooling…? Heh! First good thing to happen to me all day!" As she races into the city limits, Marin gives a grateful "Thanks!" to the swordfish kingdom watch as she swims by.

"…Hmph! Alright, you beady-eyed freaks!", snaps the other swordfish to the invading Heartless. "Do yer worst!"

Once a reasonable distance within the city limits, Marin stops to catch her breath; she wasn't yet completely used to her mermaid form, and that was perhaps the fastest she'd ever swam. In her fit of labored breathing, she glances to her rear to ensure she wasn't followed. It would appear the swordfish guards she'd encountered earlier had the situation under control. Once it was clear the danger had passed, Marin turns to examine her surroundings in greater detail. The borders of this undersea domain reached far outward, and everything within those borders filled it with light and color. From the coral gardens to the bubble spouts to the near countless types of sea life that called this place their home, it was impossible for Marin not to be impressed. "…Hmm?" Just beyond a row of tall columns, a short, almost unnoticeable scene catches Marin's eye: a young red-haired mermaid with an amethyst cloth top and sea-green tail swims by, followed quickly by a Screwdiver. "!" Again, Marin's tail instinctively carries her forward.

Moments later, the little redhead finds herself backed into a corner, with the Screwdiver slowly closing in. As she pressed her back to the wall, the mermaid cowers away to the ground, exhaling soft frightened whimpers. Shutting her eyes tight, the little girl silently cries out, "Mommy…!"

The green humanoid Heartless raises its three-pronged spear…

"…Hey."

…until a third's voice halts its attack and directs its attention elsewhere. Almost as soon as it motions a 180, the Heartless is sliced into oblivion with a single slash of the Keyblade. The blurry image of another red-haired mermaid clings to its mind like an instant photograph…until the image evaporates.

With the Heartless' departure and the subsequent storage of the Deepest Blue, Marin glides over and extends a helping hand to the terrified mermaid. "You okay, sweetie?", she asks tenderly.

The little redhead opens her eyes and, as they adjust to the light, sees Marin's silhouette hovering over her. All she could make out in the haziness was a head of auburn hair. "…Mommy…?" The image soon clears, and much to the child's disappointment, it wasn't her mother as she'd hoped. "…Oh. Never mind.", mutters she, lowering her head in grief.

"You alright? That Heartless didn't hurt you, did it?"

"Uh-uh…"

All of a sudden… "Princess Ariel!"

Looking back, Marin sees she and the child are joined by the red crab Sebastian and an escort of three swordfish guards. Admittedly unsure of how to proceed, she awkwardly greets, "…Hi?"

…A short while afterward, Marin and little Ariel are brought before the clearly displeased King Triton. Looking down from atop his throne, he addresses Ariel first. "Ariel, didn't I tell you to stay in your room with your sisters? You know how dangerous it is outside the palace!"

"I-I know, Daddy, I was just…"

''Daddy'?', ponders Marin during this. 'This cute little girl is that guy's daughter? Come to think of it, where've I seen this guy before?'

"It just isn't as safe in Atlantica as it used to be. What business could you have possibly had out there?"

"I was…picking flowers for Mommy…"

"…" Triton lowers his head in shame. How selfish it was him, he thought, to believe he was the only person in Atlantica who was suffering. He suddenly wasn't as angry with Ariel as he was a moment ago; in truth, Triton wasn't at all willing to pass discipline, especially this day. Picking his head up again, he faces Marin. "…And you are?"

As she's addressed, Marin straightens her back and holds her arms rigidly at her sides, not used to being in the presence of such commanding royalty. "M-Marin.", she stutters. "It's…an honor to meet you, King Triton."

"You have my profound thanks for saving my daughter, Marin. You appear to be from outlying seas, but you are welcome to stay in Atlantica for as long as you'd like. It's the least I could do."

"T-Thank you. That's very gracious of you, your Majesty."

"Guards!", calls Triton to his sentry of swordfish. "Escort Ariel back to her room, and make sure she stays there."

In compliance with their King's orders, the aquatic soldiers guide Ariel to her room. Ariel shares brief eye contact with her savior Marin, lamenting their not being able to chat more.

The misery in Ariel's eyes – to Marin, the root of it felt deeper than just the loss of a loved one. It was a misery she'd sensed even before setting foot (or fin, as the case may be) inside Atlantica.

"With your permission, my King…", Sebastian chimes in with, "…I'd like to give our guest here da grand tour."

Rising from his throne, Triton submits, "Please do, Sebastian. If you'll excuse me, I would retire to my quarters now."

The three all take their respective leaves of the throne room – Triton in one direction, and Marin and Sebastian toward the palace entrance. Turning to the little crab, Marin asks, "Hope you don't mind me asking, but what's with the gloomy atmosphere? Did someone pass away recently?"

"Not at all, child.", replies Sebastian with his best smile. "Even for an outsider like you, the air in Atlantica is blatantly dark. Exactly one year ago today, Queen Athena – King Triton's beloved – was lost to us."

Marin's heart sinks. "Ariel's…mother?"

"Yes. She filled his Majesty's life, and all of Atlantica, with joy and song. It was such a magical time. …But after her tragic passing, King Triton's heart fell into darkness, and the joy of music only deepened his anguish. From that moment on, music was declared illegal in Atlantica."

"Illegal…?"

As their conversation went on, the two reach an outer garden on the east side of the city where a grand stone statue stood. The statue was of a tall, well-built merman and a… Wait. A powerful sense of déjà-vu hits Marin, and in that instant she remembered where she'd last seen Triton: the image in the music box she found. It was Triton in the music box, and it was Triton in the statue before her. "…So this is Athena?", Marin suddenly asks Sebastian, referring to the woman in the stone Triton's arms.

"Dat's right.", the crab answers. "The death of our dear Queen Athena's taken a considerable toll on King Triton. He spends most of his days in his chambers, wallowing in despair. And when his Highness is sad, everyone in Atlantica is sad. And when everyone is sad…"

"…The Heartless swoop in…!" Thus the mystery of the overabundance of Heartless was solved: they were drawn by the darkness in everyone's hearts. "This is terrible. As long as King Triton's heart remains dark, the Heartless will never stop coming." Marin was admittedly at a loss. She'd never before faced a scenario such as this. "…Sorry, Sebastian, but there's something I need to take care of! Thanks for the tour!" With that, Marin swims away toward who-knows-where…

…while Sebastian is left to ponder her abrupt exit. "But…I wasn't even finished…"

As the 'Heartless-Atlantica War' rages on outside, Marin retreats to the isolation of a grotto on the outskirts of the city where she could contemplate in silence. The melody of the music box in her hands brings calm to her turbulent mind. "What am I supposed to do?", asks Marin to herself. "Pretty sure Ciel, Roche, and Relena aren't here. If that's the case, I have no business here, right? But…I can't just leave Atlantica the way it is. As a Keyblade master, I have to do _something_, don't I? But what? Just go up to King Triton and say, 'hey, stop being a crybaby and man up'? That's no plan! Argh! Why does this have to be so hard?" The more Marin stressed over it, the more it gave her a headache. Heaving a sigh, she leans back against a wall and glances up to the surface of the water. Even now, the red-haired girl longed for home. She closes the music box's lid, shuts her eyes for a spell, and lets the gentle sounds of the sea caress her ears. Unable to fight the urge, she starts to hum a mellow tune: not that of the music box, but rather a tune she herself knew for some time. Parting her lips ever so slightly, Marin puts lyrics to the melody. "_Make my wish come true, let darkness fade to light… Show me there's still hope, show me it's not–_"

"Miss Marin…?"

"!" With a gasp, Marin stops singing and quickly hides the music box. As she turns to face her addressor, she's surprised to find little Ariel out and about. "Ariel! What're you doing out here? Your father told you to stay inside; it's dangerous to be outside on your own!"

"I know, I just… I wanted to see you again. I never got to thank you for saving me."

The little girl's blush melts away Marin's demeanor and stress, and the young woman gives a kind smile. "Ohhh… You are just the cutest thing ever!", she emotes. "C'mere. You can sit next to me if you want."

With an eager smile, Ariel swims over and seats herself at Marin's side, excitedly kicking her tail as she sits. "I liked that song you were singing just now."

"Oh. Heh. You heard that, huh? My friend Serah taught it to me. What do you say we keep that between us? I wouldn't want your daddy to get mad at me."

"Sure. I won't tell anyone. …You're lucky. You don't live in Atlantica, so you get to sing all you want."

"You like singing too, Ariel?"

"I love singing! …Well…I used to. When Mommy was here, she'd sing to me and my sisters all the time. And Daddy loved to hear her sing. But after Mommy died, Daddy…changed. Now he says singing isn't allowed in Atlantica."

'Illegal'. 'Isn't allowed'. The thought of such phrases being applied to music made Marin cringe. "Ariel, music isn't something you can just forbid. Every now and then, there are moments when you feel something so strongly. And when those moments come, you have to express how you feel one way or another. Keeping those emotions bottled up just isn't healthy. And your father is a fool for not realizing that. Music…is one of the most powerful forms of magic in the universe."

"Wow… Hey! Hey! Can you teach it to me?"

"Hmm?"

"Your song! Teach it to me! Please?"

"Hahaha. I bet your mother couldn't say 'no' to you either." Marin puts an arm around Ariel's shoulder and holds her close, occasionally stroking her long hair, as she begins her song anew.

_Make my wish come true, let darkness fade to light_

_Show me there's still hope, show me it's not over_

_Battles we can win, our struggle lies within_

_Will we live to greet the dawn?_

Drawn in by Marin's lovely voice and melody, various forms of undersea fauna approach to hear her up-close. Seahorses and angelfish arrive from the north, starfish and manta rays from the south. Clams and sea snails emerge from within their shells to have a listen. And right at Marin's side, little Ariel leans in and closes her eyes, almost drifting to sleep.

_Love will not leave you, hate will not heal you_

_Promise me one day that peace shall reign…_

The grotto is blanketed in serenity as Marin finishes her song. Only the faint rippling of bubbles could be heard.

This serenity is soon shattered, however, by a nearby cry of, "It came from over here!"

At the sound of this, the many fish that had gathered together suddenly swim away in a panic to all directions. The clams and sea snails retreat into their shells, and Ariel clings to Marin tightly.

A group consisting of King Triton, Ursula, and a pair of swordfish enter to confront the two mermaids. Barks one swordfish at Marin, "You! You were saying just now, weren't you? That's a violation of the Triton Acts!"

"All music is forbidden in the kingdom!", the other swordfish adds.

"So I've heard…", Marin sneers. But in the face of Triton's livid glare, she quickly casts off her arrogance.

As his right hand clutches a golden trident, Triton looks down upon his daughter. "Ariel. Come here.", he demands.

The timid 6-year-old leaves Marin's side and floats over to her father's side, saying nothing and keeping her head down while doing so.

The ruler of the seas looks to Marin then. "…Marin. According to Sebastian, you were informed that music was illegal in Atlantica. Correct?"

"…Yes."

"Then you realize the mistake you've made here?"

"'Mistake'? Since when is a love for music a 'mistake'?"

"In Atlantica, my word is law. We are well-set in our ways in regards to Atlantica's bylaws and customs, outlander, and I'll thank you to respect that. Now, as I've said, you are welcome to stay in Atlantica for as long as you'd like, but during such time, you will adhere to our laws _without question_. Furthermore, you are not allowed inside the royal palace, and you are prohibited from communicating with any of my daughters."

"That's not fair!" Marin floats up to challenge this, but the bill of a swordfish cuts her off.

"And should you violate this arrangement…", Triton adds, "…or in any way show disrespect to our ways, you will be forever banished from my kingdom! Do I make myself clear?"

The auburn-haired mermaid grinds her teeth, but consents. "…Yes, your Majesty. I understand."

"Good. Come along, Ariel. You are confined to the palace until further notice."

"…Yes, Daddy."

The group (plus one Ariel) departs for the palace. Ursula lingers for a moment to look at Marin, expressing her intrigue, before joining them.

"…" Marin gives a look of great displeasure. Triton may be a king, but she wasn't fond of being talk down to in any capacity. Drawing the Deepest Blue, she slashes at the Sea Neon to her rear and screams in anger. "…That settles it. I'm not leaving Atlantica until I fix this.", she resolves. "Time for King Triton's wake-up call! …And I think I know just how to give it to him."

The exterior of the palace is as dismal and teeming with Heartless as ever, with the Swordfish Patrol scrambling to keep the kingdom and its citizens safe. With the situation as bleak as it was, a certain Keyblade wielder finds she's able to slip past the guards and into the palace with ease. Once inside, Marin exercises further stealth as she makes her way toward the northeastern tower. She ducks into a coral garden as the patrol swims by. As the guards fall out of earshot, Marin calls to the highest tower window in her loudest whisper. "Pssst! Ariel!"

A bundle of red-haired cuteness pokes her head out the window and spots Marin in the gardens below. "Marin!", Ariel cries in earnest.

With a kick of her tail, Marin shoots up out of the garden and swims up to the Ariel's bedroom window, upon which the girl gives her a vigorous hug. "It's good to see you too.", says Marin as she tousles Ariel's hair. Looking straight ahead, Marin discovers several other faces in the room: six additional girls with differing hair colors, tail colors, and hairstyles, and ranging from one to six years older than Ariel. "Are these your sisters?", she inquires.

"Uh-huh.", young Ariel answers. "This is Attina, Alana, Aquata, Arista, Adella, and Andrina."

"Wow. Heh. That's a lot of A's.", Marin remarks. "Listen, I need help with something. Do you and your sisters wanna lend a hand?"

"Sure! What do you need?"

"Get all your fish friends together, grab as many musical instruments as you can carry, and meet me outside the city."

"Instruments? Why?"

"I'll explain later. Can you do it?"

"Hmm… Okay! You can count on us!"

…Some time later, a large group of marine animals, led by Ariel and with a number of musical instruments in tow, move stealthily through and out of the city and into a clearing some distance away from the palace where Marin awaited them. She holds up above her a beacon of light from the Keyblade to guide them to her location. "Over here, Ariel!", she calls out. "Glad you could make it, guys. Just set the stuff down anywhere."

"You gonna tell us why we hauled all this stuff out here?", asks a cynical Arista.

"Gladly.", Marin responds, picking up a flute and playing a short glissando of notes. "…We're gonna bring music back to Atlantica!"

The redhead's announcement causes the crowd of fish to grow anxious.

Before she would hear their 'music-is-forbidden' argument, Marin continues, "I know I'm asking a lot of you all to defy Atlantican law, but there's something you – and your King Triton – need to understand: music isn't something that can be controlled. It's a living, breathing thing, and it yearns to be free. When King Triton took that away from you, he also took away your ability to feel, your ability to live and love life. He took away the very thing that made Atlantica worth living in. I know he's your king, but his heart is clouded by sadness. He's forgotten how to be happy, how to love. With this…we can remind him, and take Atlantica back from the darkness."

The brewing anxiety subsides, and the crowd goes simply quiet…until a little red hermit crab steps forward. "Count me in, mon!", says Sebastian.

"Sebastian?", Marin utters disbelievingly. "You're the _last_ person I'd expect to–"

"It's true what you say. Ever since her Highness Queen Athena's death, it feels like the life had been sucked out of me. I don't care what da law says – I wanna sing and dance 'til my shell falls off!"

Aquata stands alongside the tiny crab. "If Sebastian's in, then so am I!"

"Me too!", cries Adella.

"Same here!", Andrina echoes.

Similar exclamations fill the crowd, and before long it was unanimous. Marin's eyes light up with excitement at this spectacle. "Alright then! Everyone, grab an instrument and follow me!"

Each instrument on the ground, just as quickly as they were set down, is snatched up by the fish nearest to it, and the residents of Atlantica fill the field with discordant musical sounds, like an orchestra warming up before its concerto. As the scene plays out before them, a pair of slithery moray eels observes from within the shadows. The milky white of one's left eye and the other's right glow an ominous yellow, and the scene is somehow transmitted to a crystal ball in Ursula's palace chambers, where the lavender-skinned squid woman watches with heavy disdain. "'Bring music back to Atlantica', eh? Hmph!", she scoffs. "Not if I have anything to say about it. My research into those creatures isn't complete yet. And if it's King Triton that's truly drawing them here, then whatever crackpot plan the little lady is planning, I can't let it succeed!"

The level of Heartless activity in the palace recedes – a rare occurrence in Atlantica – allowing a well-needed respite for the swordfish kingdom watch. Three such guards assemble in the palace courtyard. "All clear up north!", the first states.

"Same goes for the west!", the second adds.

"Good work!", the third swordfish commends. "A couple more patrols should do it for… Huh? Hey, you guys hear somethin'?"

The other two put their ears to the air and, to their surprise, hear a distant but slowly approaching sound. A sound not heard in Atlantica for a year. "Is that…music?"

All three look to the city entrance and discover a large group of mermaids and fish, with Marin at the forefront, marching to the beat of the music they were creating. The harmonious, energetic sounds of horns, strings, woodwinds, drums, and tambourines fill the air. Drawn by the big band music booming outside, mermen and mermaids emerge from their homes to have a listen. It had been a whole year since their ears were graced by such wondrous sound. It brought smiles to some and the urge to break into dance to others. Those obedient enough to King Triton's rule to try and put a stop to this 'unlawful madness' would be subject to Marin's magic and frozen in ice; she would not be stopped this early.

It wouldn't take long for the music to reach the palace walls; King Triton and Ursula promptly emerge just as Marin's jazz ensembles enter the palace courtyard. Through his clenched teeth, he bellows, "What is the meaning of this?"

"This, King Triton…", Marin exclaims, "…is an intervention!"

"You!", the angered king snarls. "I might've known _you_ were behind this, outlander! Are our ways so beneath you that you must continually flout them? Will you stop at nothing to ruin us?"

"'_Ruin_' you? I'm trying to help you! The people of Atlantica are miserable, your Majesty! You have the power to change that, yet you do nothing but grieve!"

"You _dare_ tell me how to rule my kingdom…?"

"Loving music is not a 'mistake', your Majesty! It's not a crime!"

"You have no say in the matter!"

"…Oh, really…? What about Queen Athena?"

"!"

"What do you think she'd say if she saw Atlantica now? I may not have known her, but I know she wouldn't have wanted this."

"…How dare you…!"

"I love music, King Triton. No law will ever change that fact."

"…Then you are no longer welcome in these waters, outlander. And despite what you say on the matter, _I will not have music in __**MY**__ kingdom! __**EVER!**_"

Coinciding with Triton's roar, a rumbling wail shakes Atlantica to its core. An enormous shadow falls upon the city and palace, prompting all eyes in the kingdom to turn upward. The massive underbelly of a blue whale-shaped Heartless eclipses the sun. As its deep song echoes, the whale swings its giant tail down onto the palace, smashing the tower farthest northwest into rubble. The city erupts in panic.

As the whale passes overhead, Marin meets Triton's eye again. "There! You see? You see what the darkness in your heart is doing? Your kingdom is so _caked_ in it, it's attracting the Heartless like flies to a bug zapper!"

"The…darkness in…? You're not suggesting _I'm_ the cause of this?"

"That's _exactly_ what I'm suggesting!" As their squabble continues, a second tremor shakes the kingdom and breaks away another tower. "Argh! I don't have time for this!", Marin grumbles. She draws the Deepest Blue and swims up.

"W-Wait! What are you going to do?"

"What you refuse to do yourself!"

As the Keyblade wielder swims off, Ursula shows a sneering glare. "…Tch!"

"…" The speechless Triton watches as Marin goes to challenge the huge Heartless, but his gaze is shifted downward when something tugs at the tip of his tail.

"…Daddy?", Ariel whimpers below.

"Ariel…" Widening his gaze, he notices his six other daughters gathering around him and giving similar expressions. "Girls…"

Far above the kingdom, Marin swims up to the Heartless whale's eye as it doubles back around. "Buddy, I'm not having the best day, and you've got possibly the _worst_ timing ever!", she snaps. "So why don't you do us both a favor and get lost?"

In reply, the Heartless lets out another rumbling wail.

"Yeah… I had a feeling you'd say that…!"

The _Mermaid Eater_ brings its flipper up to smack Marin away, but Marin easily swims around the attack due to the whale's weight and sluggishness. With the Keyblade, Marin circles around the whale's body, zapping at its skin with a bombardment of lightning. This unfortunately does little more than annoy the whale. It retaliates by summoning a large horde of Aquatanks and Darkballs from the black bubbling wrinkles on its back. With a frustrated scowl, Marin swims up to dispose of these parasite-like Heartless, firing upon them with Ragnarok. She then redirects her attention to the Mermaid Eater below her and prepares to strike, but not before being sprayed upon by a blast of hot water from its blowhole. This puts some distance between the two – distance Marin couldn't afford to cross, as the whale had been making its way back toward Atlantica for the duration of the battle. And no amount of Blizzard magic would slow it down. With a powerful kick of her fins, Marin lunges at the whale at high-speed, tearing into its skin as best she could. Marin then looks ahead and notices that the Mermaid Eater was a direct collision course with Atlantica. Thinking quickly, she swims up to the whale's eye again and shoots at it with a sphere of Fire. The whale exhales a pained cry and veers sharply at the last second, taking only another of the palace towers down with its flipper. To deter Marin further, it summons a large cluster of Sea Neons and Sheltering Zones. Marin exterminates a small percentage of them with Gravity, then goes to confront the remainder head-on. As they gang up on her, she blasts them away with the light of a Faith spell. Looking to end this quickly, Marin circles around the Mermaid Eater's body several more times in search of its Heartless emblem, but to no avail: the beast had no externally visible emblem to speak of. As Marin struggles to locate its weak spot, the whale turns back around and tries for three. What's more, it summons even more Heartless to wear down Marin's stamina. 'If this keeps much longer, Atlantica will be nothing but rubble!', the Keyblade-wielding girl mentally grumbles.

Even the people of Atlantica below were having a hard time of it: as Atlantica crumbles around them, the merpeople and fish scrambled for shelter from the falling tower debris. While most of the destruction was localized outside the city, King Triton protects those within the city walls by blasting the falling towers with his trident. However, the stress brought on by his year-long bout of grieving causes exhaustion to set in rather early. Perhaps it was old age; perhaps he was out of practice – whatever the reason, Triton's limit would soon be reached.

Back up above, Marin swims around to the Mermaid Eater's front, firing upon its face and nose with whatever spells she had in her arsenal. The whale cries once again and opens its mouth to inhale. "W-What the…?" Unable to fight against the Heartless' breath, Marin is pulled into its great maw and swallowed. From here, she was unable to determine how far and how close the whale was from Atlantica; her time was therefore short. Rather than try to force the whale's maw open again, she swims further into its body, perhaps to try and take it down from the inside. As expected, more swarms of Heartless would emerge to hinder her, but she would not be deterred. With an endless succession of magic projectiles, she blasts her way through and heads for where its heart was located. Once far enough in, she comes to a sort-of chamber housing a large core with a multitude of 'veins' reaching outward. Every few seconds, it throbs stagnantly. And at its center was a large Heartless emblem. Were Marin not on a timetable, she'd stop for a moment to laugh at the irony. As the Heartless move in from the rear, she seals them off from the core with a wall of ice and turns back to the emblem, taking aim at it with the Keyblade. "And just so you know…I _did_ ask nicely!", Marin snaps again, tossing her weapon at the emblem like throwing a javelin in track and field. The blade whizzes through the water and punctures the emblem clean through.

From the inside out, the Mermaid Eater begins to disintegrate into black dust. In the throes of death, it lets loose a final agonized cry, and just before vanishing into nothingness, it manages to take down one last palace tower.

As his arms fall limp to his sides, Triton exhales a breath of fatigue, believing his duty to be over at last. But his gaze shifts up as the collapsing tower's shadow falls upon his form. "!"

Ariel and her sisters look on in dread. "DADDY!", the seven mermaids scream out.

"_**Thundaga Shot!**_"

With a timely explosion of lightning, the tower is reduced to fragments that rain harmlessly upon the weary king.

As her own battle comes to an end, Marin floats down to confront Triton again. The Keyblade in her hand vanishes in a swirl of azure light. "…"

At first, Triton finds himself unable to look Marin in the eye. "Was… Was it as you said…? The arrival of those creatures – the 'Heartless' – was my doing…?"

"The Heartless feed on the darkness in peoples' hearts.", Marin explains. "They're drawn by it. The death of Queen Athena brought out your darkness, and the more time you spent grieving, the more it grew…until it couldn't be contained."

Triton hides his face in shame. "…I did this…"

"…" Reaching behind her, Marin takes out the music box and presents it to Triton.

"!" Triton's eyes widen with disbelief at the sight of the trinket. He reaches out to take it into his hands and lets the melody play in its entirety. "W-Where… How did you…?"

"I know you miss Queen Athena, King Triton. But by pushing music away and embracing the darkness, you're only tarnishing her memory. Music holds a power unlike that of your trident or my Keyblade. It reaches deep within, finds what troubles you, and drives it out, replacing it with only positive feelings. It's a magic that isn't to be taken lightly. And I know it's somewhere inside you, your Majesty. You may have disregarded it this whole time, but it's there, waiting for you to let it out. So let it out already. It's the best way to keep Athena's memory alive."

"…Athena…", Triton somberly whispers, holding the music box close to his chest. Turning to his rear, he faces the stone statue of himself and Athena, setting the music box down at its base.

As its melody plays, a most spectacular miracle occurs: from out of the music box rises a swirl of golden bubbles that surround the statue and turns the stone that composed it into a glinting solid gold. Following this, a rain of gold glitter falls upon the ground around the statue and works a form of restoration magic that not only covers the entire city with colorful flowers and light but also returns the palace to the beauty and glory it beheld prior to the Mermaid Eater's attack; the fallen towers are instantaneously repaired, and the palace shone brighter than ever.

And for the first time in a year…King Triton smiled.

"…Attention, all!"

Soon afterward, Triton would address everyone in Atlantica in the palace assembly hall. To each of Triton's sides stand three of his loving daughters; Ariel is seen perched on Triton's shoulder. Marin too was in attendance. "To my daughters…", he starts, "…and to all citizens of Atlantica, I hereby decree that music shall once again ring clear from one end of my kingdom to the other!"

This news brings long-awaited delight to the people of Atlantica, and Triton eagerly accepts their joyful cheers.

As his people jump for joy and dance to the music that followed, Triton turns to Marin, placing a hand on her shoulder. "…Thank you.", he says to her.

Marin warmly replies. "…My pleasure." Just then, she's taken by the hand. "Whoa!"

"Hee-hee! C'mon, Marin!", shouts Ariel excitedly, pulling at Marin's arm. "Dance with me!"

"Hahaha! Okay, okay, settle down!"

The scene brings a short chuckle out of King Triton, as he was simply glad that life had returned to his kingdom. And as his large hands stroked the music box, he would mentally vow it would never again leave.


	11. Report 11: Vanishing Radiance

I enjoyed writing this chapter. I really did. It's a lively chapter with a lot going on all at once, and is at times even emotional, but I found writing certain characters' dialogue (mostly Cid and Yuffie's) a lot of fun. Cid's a crazy old man, ain't he? ^_^

Now the not-so-fun part: Roche's part of the story originally depended on the _Final Fantasy_ characters he interacts with being much older than they are here. Looking at those characters' pages on the _Kingdom Hearts Wiki_, I noticed some of their ages were confirmed: in the first Kingdom Hearts, Squall/Leon is 25, Yuffie is 16, and Cid is 42 (for some reason, Aerith's age isn't given, but I assume she's around Cloud's age). And here, they would all be nine years younger. It's because of this that I almost wrote Yuffie out of the story completely. I struggled with this for maybe an hour or so and eventually decided that Yuffie was JUST awesome enough to keep in. You're welcome, fan-boys.

Lastly, as you're reading this, some of you might be wondering, "Where's Tifa?" Well, this line on her _Kingdom Hearts Wiki_ page explains it best: "[Tifa] may or may not also be a human resident of Hollow Bastion, but rather a physical embodiment of Cloud's light to oppose Sephiroth, who symbolizes his darkness. The ambiguity of her nature was deliberately inserted by Nomura in order to generate discussion from the players." That's right. Tifa's not here because Nomura apparently likes to mess with his fans' heads. And I wasn't about to get into an argument with myself about whether to throw Tifa in there based on if she was human or not. Thanks a lot, Nomura, you manipulative ass.

Anyways, enjoy. Just 2 chapters to go!

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts is a trademark of Square-Enix and Disney. Any similarities between this and other works submitted are purely coincidental.

* * *

_Even in the purest light, darkness may take hold… And the radiance will fade away…_

_**Kingdom Hearts ~another side~**_

**~ Report 11: Vanishing Radiance ~**

The Gummi Ship _NORA_ descends from the fuchsia midday sky upon a world of white not unlike Ciel's own Aubade Town. But with the grand yet twisted citadel standing in the center of the city and the lofty stone walls circling it, this world more closely resembled a fortress than a town.

Just beyond the outer city gates, Ciel makes his landing at a small hangar that accommodates a number of other Gummi Ships, each with a unique design that Ciel hadn't seen before. As the ship lands, Ciel disembarks and takes his first steps onto this new world. Gazing ahead, he looks at the citadel in the distance; strangely, it was both beautiful and terrifying.

"Caught yer eye, did it?"

Turning to the voice, Ciel is greeted by a grown man with short blond hair and facial stubble. He wore a white T-shirt, carrot-orange waistband, baggy blue pants, and black shoes – all of which were coated in traces of soot and motor oil. The man had a distinct 'grease monkey' look to him. "Say again?", Ciel says back.

"Saw ya eyeballing the castle, kid. That there's Hollow Bastion, pride and joy o' the Radiant Garden. …'Course, it ain't much to look at nowadays. You shoulda seen it a year past, shinin' like the bloomin' sun." With a hand wiped clean of oil, the man extends a handshake to Ciel. "Name's Cid."

Not to seem impolite, Ciel accepts Cid's handshake and returns with, "Ciel."

"Heh. This sure is somethin' else. We don't get visitors here often, and today we got two."

"Two?"

"Yup. Other ship showed up not long before you did. Nice piece o' work she was… And the ship weren't too bad neither! Hehehe!"

"What other ship?"

"That one over yonder.", says Cid, pointing to his rear with his thumb.

At the other end of the hangar, a standalone Gummi Ship sits. Its familiar design strikes a chord with Ciel in an instant. "…The _Nautilus_! Then Marin is…?"

"Yeah, that's it. 'Marin', she said her name was. Came here lookin' for someone, if I recall."

"How long ago did she arrive? Where is she now?"

"Uh… Goin' on half an hour, I reckon. She asked me where the town was, and I pointed her in that direction. It's just past the square."

"Thanks!" Wasting no more time with idle chat, Ciel turns north and races through the gates.

"Be careful, y'hear? There's Heartless about!"

Ciel sprints over the sett-paved road toward the central square, hopes of finding Marin all that urge him forward. 'Marin's here!', he mentally exclaims. 'I can't believe I've finally caught up!'

Just then, as if to mock him further, a group of Heartless emerges from the darkness to bar his path. Faces new and old comprised its ranks.

"Typical…!", the teal-haired one grumbles. Refusing to break his stride, he takes the Pierce the Skies into his left hand. "If you think I'm stopping just for this, you're dead wrong!"

Meanwhile… "…Where do you think he came from?"

"Who knows? What _I_ wanna know is how he got in here."

"Hey! See if he has any cool stuff on 'im!"

"Yuffie!"

"Kidding, kidding…!"

"…Look! He's coming to!"

With a groan, Roche regains consciousness and awakens to the sight of three kids of varied ages. The first – a teenage boy, apparently the eldest of the three – had short brown hair and wore a white undershirt beneath a black jacket, black gloves, black pants, and black shoes. A number of black and brown loose-fitting belts wrapped his hips, and his accessory of choice was a silver lion's-head necklace. The second – a lovely teenage girl, slightly younger than the boy – had long brown hair drawn back into a braid with bright red ribbon, and was dressed in a pink dress that stretched down to her ankles and brown boots. The third – a youthful girl of 7 – had short black hair and wore a green and yellow hooded vest over a white singlet, white shorts, white shoes, and a white headband. The kids all stand over Roche with looks of interest. Feeling discomfort by their proximity, Roche rolls around on the floor some to sit upright and shies away to the nearest wall, giving a look of apprehension.

The 7-year-old girl takes pleasure in this for some reason. "Heh-heh. Look, he's afraid of us."

"Yuffie…", says the other girl reproachfully. Approaching Roche with care, she extends a warm hand. "It's okay. We're not gonna hurt you."

"Well, _we_ won't. But Squall might.", Yuffie teases.

Slowly rising to his feet (but keeping his back to the wall), Roche utters, "W-What's going on? Where am I? How'd I get here?"

"You tell us, kid.", the teenage boy curtly replies. "One minute we're minding our own business, and the next you come in through a hole in the ceiling and hit your head on the bookshelf."

Roche brings his hand up to the top of his head and winces at the touch of a sore bump. "Agh! Yeah, that explains that… Last thing I remember, I was in Never Land, I opened up one of those weird white portals, and… Argh! My head!"

"Here, let me–"

"Aerith, stop! We know nothing about this kid!"

"He's a little boy in pain! What else is there to know?" The girl named Aerith steps up and puts her hands to Roche's bump. "Hold still, okay?", she says softly, applying a bit of Cure magic to the sore spot. "…That better?"

Roche rubs the spot a little to find most of the pain had left. Meeting Aerith's eyes, he blushes a little. "Y-Yeah. Thanks."

"You're welcome.", says Aerith with a smile.

Little Yuffie has a silent giggle at this while the brown-haired boy folds his arms in contempt.

"So…what is this place?", Roche asks.

"This is Radiant Garden. You're in the house of Merlin the wizard. But Merlin's away right now, so we're using his house as our headquarters."

"Headquarters?"

"That's right!", Yuffie leaps in with. "I'm Yuffie. You've already met Aerith. And this bundle of joy over here is our fearless leader Squall. And together, we're…" The girl jumps to her feet and strikes a dramatic pose. "…the Radiant Garden Heartless Extermination Squad!"

"…That's still the stupidest name I've ever heard.", Squall comments.

"Moving on… So what's _your_ name?"

"Uh, I'm Roche."

"How'd you end up here?"

"The same way I ended up in Never Land, to be honest. I've pretty much been jumping from one place to the next trying to find my friend Ciel and sister Marin and get back home. Pretty sure me ending up here was just a fluke."

"Well, Roche, however you wound up here, you're more than welcome to stay. As long as we're around, it doesn't get much safer than Radiant Garden."

"If we're just about done playing around…", Squall interrupts, "…Cloud's expecting us over in the Aqueduct. Says a bunch of Heartless are in there cutting off some of the water supply."

"You're off to destroy Heartless? I can help!"

"Kid, over the past year or so, I've had to deal with the disappearance of Ansem the Wise and an army of Heartless. And now Merlin's gone – the useless old man. The last thing I need is a little kid slowing me down."

"I won't slow you down! I can fight the Heartless too! Look!" Roche reaches out his right hand and summons the Superquake into his grasp.

All eyes in the room besides Roche's fall upon the weapon. "The Keyblade…!", Aerith whispers in awe.

"Cool…", Yuffie adds.

Propping the Keyblade on his shoulder, Roche boasts, "Yeah. Suddenly I'm not so little, am I?"

"…" Saying nothing, Squall turns and makes for the door, opening it to let the sun in. "…Your funeral.", he finally utters before departing north.

"Awesome!", Yuffie exclaims. "We've got a Keyblade master in our ranks! Nothing can stop us now! Heartless Extermination Squad, move out!" With this, the 7-year-old bolts out the door and after Squall.

Her hyperactivity left an odd taste in Roche's mouth. "…Does she always act that way?", he asks Aerith.

"Pretty much.", Aerith answers with a shrug. "Come on. If you aren't in much of a hurry to head home, your Keyblade would be a big help against the Heartless."

"Sure! Leave it to me!"

Elsewhere, as Ciel fights past hordes of Neoshadows and Armored Knights, he makes his way to the central square within minutes. Here, he takes notice of three paths leading further into the city: to the north – past an evidently locked gate – was the always magnificent Hollow Bastion, and two additional paths each led east and west. Which path led to the town, Ciel could only guess. "Now which way?", the boy whines. "Leave it to Cid to give me poor directions!" With the Heartless bearing down on him, Ciel was forced to make a decision. "Aw, man!" Throwing caution to the wind, he bolts toward the west.

Just then, as he leaves, who would enter the square from the _east_ other than first arrival Marin? Seeming worn, she enters arms crossed and head down and heaves a sigh. "Well, I've officially been all over this city, and no sign of Ciel, Roche, or Relena. Big surprise there.", she mutters to herself disillusioned. "The more this search drags on, the more it feels like a wild goose chase. What've I really accomplished on this journey? I'm no closer to finding my friends than when I left Aurora's world. …Hmm?"

Picking herself up from her self-pity, Marin glances ahead to the middle of the square and finds three ducklings – each wearing a long-sleeved turtleneck and baseball cap of a particular color – being harassed by a trio of tall beagles – each wearing a red shirt, blue pants, brown shoes, and a green cap. The duckling in the red shirt and cap is held up by his collar while the ducklings in blue and green are hoisted by their skinny ankles. "Let go o' me, you big palooka!", squawks the duckling in red.

"Here's the deal, pipsqueak.", the shortest beagle starts. "You tell us where yer 'Unca Scrooge' hides his loot, and we'll let ya go and be on our merry way. Don't tell us, and we'll have to get a little more…_persuasive_."

"I ain't telling you nothing!", the duckling in red openly defies.

"Heh. Have it your way." As he bears a wicked grin, the short beagle cracks his knuckles.

"…Hey."

Turning their eyes east, the beagles observe Marin with the Deepest Blue in her hands. "Yeah? What you want, bright-eyes?"

"Do we have a problem here, _gentlemen_?"

"'Problem'? Yeah, I got a problem. Some redheaded floozy's buttin' in on Beagle Boy business – _that's_ my problem."

"Alright, I'll make this simple for you, boys. Drop the ducks and walk away…or else I'll _make_ you."

"'Make' us? That's a laugh! The Beagle Boys don't take orders from nobody – especially from some out-of-town broad! Now hit the road, sweet cheeks!"

"Uh, b-boss?", stutters the second of the Beagle Boys, drawing attention to the fact he was now floating off the ground. Courtesy of Marin's Zero Gravity, he's suddenly hurled into the air and toward the fountain court, his panicked scream echoing across the Radiant Garden sky.

"Burger!", the first Beagle Boy cries to his airborne brother. "…Grrrr…" Dropping the duckling in the red shirt, he steps toward Marin with balled-up fists. "Alright, doll! You now have my full and undivided attention! Bouncer!"

"Right behind ya, Bigtime!", says the tallest of the three Beagle Boys, dropping the ducklings in blue and green and stepping up to his diminutive brother's side. "Mess with one Beagle Boy, you mess with 'em all!"

"Hmm… Okay.", Marin simply says, sending Bouncer Beagle the way of Burger Beagle before him. As the burly thug flies off, Marin looks down on Bigtime Beagle with a smirk.

It's at this juncture that the Beagle Boy leader shows signs of trepidation. "Um… H-Hey, can't we talk about this? You know, civilized-like?"

Losing her smirk, Marin puts on a scowl. "'Civilized'? I'm surprised that a lowlife like you even knows the meaning of the word. If there's anything I hate more than Heartless, it's bullies." With a third show of Zero Gravity…

…Bigtime is lifted off the ground. "W-W-Wait a minute! I-I don't do _**HEEEEEIGHTS**_!" Like with Burger's scream, so too does Bigtime Beagle's cry echo as he's shot into the air.

A grin of satisfaction returns to Marin's lips.

"_Quack-a-rooney_!", the duckling in red exclaims as he rushes to Marin's side. "You sure showed them!"

"Hmph. Nothing to it.", Marin, in a brief state of overconfidence, remarks. "You alright?"

"We are now! Thanks a lot, lady! Listen, my brothers and I are opening up our own shop in town today. If you ever stop by, we'll be sure to give ya a discount, okay?"

"Heh-heh. Sounds good." The duckling in red soon joins his brothers, and Marin waves farewell.

"_Now _that_ was a great show. Didn't think you had it in you, 'Red'. I'm rubbing off on you a little, aren't I?_"

"!" The voice from afar would come to Marin as naturally unwelcome. But rather than turn to face its source, she tightens her grip on the Keyblade… "…Hah!" …and spins around to create a towering pillar of ice behind with Blizzard. Unfortunately, she had caught nothing with her spell.

"_Pretty quick on the draw there, 'Red'. Not quick enough, but still._"

"…Stop hiding."

"…_Fine._" Just a few feet away, alongside Marin's pillar of ice, Marin appears from the darkness to greet her. "…Yo."

"…Relena."

The ice shatters and dissipates, and Marin and Relena stare each other down as silence falls upon the square.

Racing west out of the square and toward what he believed to be the castle town, Ciel soon finds himself in the royal gardens. Smooth paths of concrete, lush beds of grass, a multitude of trees, and the scent of hundreds of assorted flowers greet him as he enters. Momentarily entranced by the landscape, Ciel slows his sprint to a casual walk. At the far southwest end, beneath one of the many trees lining the gardens, he sees a little girl picking flowers and humming a soft tune. She had short, deep-red hair that barely reached her shoulders, and wore a simple white shirt with a blue floral design, a pink skirt, and white slip-on shoes lined with pink and purple. Stepping onto the grass to approach her, Ciel addresses the girl. "Uh, hey there."

"Hmm?" Her humming interrupted, the child turns around and looks upon Ciel with her big blue eyes. With a bundle of flowers in her hands, she rises to her feet. "Oh, hello. I haven't seen you around here before."

"What're you doing out here by yourself?"

"Just picking some flowers for my Grandma."

"You sure that's safe?"

"Mm-hmm. It's always safe with the Heartless Extermination Squad around."

"The what…?" Before Ciel could question what this 'Heartless Extermination Squad' was, the girl's silver bead necklace catches his eye. He kneels down beside the girl to take a closer look. "That's a nice necklace you have on."

"Thanks! My Grandma gave it to me."

Reaching out his hand to touch the necklace, Ciel is suddenly overwhelmed by warmth. 'Such a powerful light… Who is this girl…?'

"Uh… You okay, mister?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, I'm fine. …I'm Ciel. What's your name?"

"I'm Kairi. Nice to meet you!"

"Tell me, Kairi. Have you seen anyone else today that you haven't seen before? Maybe someone with long red hair and it's in a ponytail?"

"Mmmm… No, sorry. You're the first new face I've seen today."

"Hm. Okay then." Defeated, Ciel stands upright and prepares to move on. "Well, thanks anyway. It was nice meeting you." He turns to the northwest and climbs the steps toward the castle. "Oh! And if you see a woman with blond hair, green eyes, and wearing a white cape, stay away from her!"

"Uh, okay. Bye." Kairi dwells on the peculiarity of Ciel's words for all of five seconds before going back to flower-picking.

"…Why, Relena? Why are you doing this?"

Cut back to the middle of Radiant Garden's central square, where Marin and Relena stood across from one another. The Deepest Blue vanishes from the redhead's hand; her expression wasn't so much of anger but of desperation. "I don't want to fight you, Relena.", she says to the blonde-turned-Heartless. "I want to understand what's making you do the things you're doing."

"Oh? Where's this coming from?", asks Relena with her hands planted at her hips. "I thought I was 'sick in the head'. 'Psychopathic' even. And now you want to 'understand' me?"

"I just… I just can't believe someone could go from being one of my best friends to being…well, _you_."

"Do we need to revisit the whole everyone-kicked-me-out-of-my-own-world thing again? 'Lost cause', remember? My own parents called me a 'monster' and threw me on the street! You have _no idea_ what that's like!"

"Okay, so your beef is with everyone in Aubade Town. If that's the case, why not go and finish what you started? You have the power to, and nothing's stopping you. Why drag it out?"

With a shrug, Relena rationalizes, "What can I say? The heart's a mysterious thing, Marin. Call it old habits; call it savoring the moment. You know how when you hit a cockroach with your bare hand but it doesn't die? It just kinda…lies there, using whatever leg power it has left to get away. But no matter how hard it tries, it can't get away fast enough. And even though you want to, you can't look away, because a part of your brain is going, 'Go! Go! Go!' You're subconsciously cheering it on. You _want_ it to try and get away. Why? Because you enjoy it. You relish the joy of the hunt. It's the only thing keeping you from putting the wretched thing out of its misery, and then it's nothing but an afterthought. So to answer your question, Marin: Why do I drag it out? Because the lives of those bathed in the light are those of cockroaches. And I surrendered myself over to the darkness for the sole purpose of making them _suffer_ before I snuff them out!"

Marin was at a loss for words. Relena became a Heartless of her own free will? Such an act was beyond mere insanity, she thought. Had Relena's heart truly given in to the darkness completely? Was a Heartless beyond salvation? With such questions burning in her mind, Marin takes hold of the Keyblade once more. As she raises her head, tears trickle down her cheeks. "…Guess nothing else needs to be said.", she mutters. Assuming a stance, she prepares to go on the attack.

All of a sudden, a mighty tremor nearly knocks Marin off her feet. Relena, however, stands firm throughout the quake as if it were nothing.

"Now what?", cries Marin, having lived through enough earthquakes in one lifetime. Glancing to the south, she observes what appear to be dozens of Heartless pouring in from the outer garden entryway and even more appearing from the darkness itself. "What the…? Where are all these Heartless coming from?" Her immediate assumption: the sadist standing across from her. With a glare, she barks, "_Relena!_"

"This may come to you as a shock, but my hands are clean in this.", the blonde defends. "But if I may direct Milady's attention to yonder stone wall…"

Marin turns to the south once again and this time focuses a little higher, to the top of the stone wall that circled the city and castle. And in the light of Radiant Garden's evening sun, a figure comes into view: a figure with horns atop its head and a robe as black as night. Marin's eyes go wide with terror. "!"

With green-orbed staff in hand, Maleficent looks upon the square with scorn. "Well, well… And here I was, wondering what it was about this place that was making my skin crawl, and lo, I have my answer.", sneers the mistress of evil.

"Maleficent!", Marin shouts through her teeth. "What are you doing here?"

"Did I not vow to become ruler of all worlds? I stand by that vow even now. I still may not have means with which to obtain the hearts of the Princesses of Heart, but I am no stranger to biding my time. Three of the seven have been safely tucked away, and I need only secure the remaining four."

"What do you mean 'tucked away'? What did you do with Princess Aurora?"

"Aurora, as well as the other Princesses, is, shall we say…hibernating, her consciousness locked into a state of deep sleep for me to bring her out of should the situation call for it. And the rest of her miserable realm…done away with."

"No…!"

"And now that my powers have returned in full, I am in need of a castle more suited to my tastes. And this…Hollow Bastion looks simply exquisite. …But I've no need for this eyesore of a town beneath it. Let the Heartless do with it as they please."

Marin's grip on the Keyblade tightens even further. "You witch…!"

"And you, Keyblade wielder, shall have the distinct honor of bearing witness to my rise to power firsthand!" Raising her staff, Maleficent fires upon the sky with a beam of black light, opening a portal to the darkness. As it swirls with black and electricity surges within it, it takes the shape of a massive sphere. This sphere acts as a vacuum that attempts to pull everyone and everything in the city into it. The wind around Radiant Garden suddenly picks up, engulfing the entire city in a cyclone.

Marin screams, "MALEFICENT!", her voice slightly muffled by the heavy winds.

With a second wave of her wand, the evil sorceress summons a mammoth Heartless to the square grounds to keep Marin busy. Predominantly slate-grey in color, the Heartless bore sky blue flame patterns on its back and legs, black two-toe claws, two large, curved, blue-tipped tusks sprouting from its lower jaw, a dark-red pointed horn on its forehead, a Heartless emblem on its chest, and the same piercing yellow eyes that all Heartless are known for having. The beast towers over the area, appearing to be at least ten times Marin's size.

As Maleficent vanishes to parts unknown, Marin stares down the threatening gaze of a _Chaos Behemoth_.

"Well, that's my cue.", Relena finally speaks up. "Best of luck, 'Red'. Let me know how it all turns out." With a wink, the blonde sadist takes her leave as well, disappearing into the darkness to leave Marin to fend for herself.

Marin grasps the Keyblade with both hands and meets the Behemoth's eye again, yelling out an aggravated "_Why me?_"

…As the Aqueduct trembles around them, the Heartless Extermination Squad members find it difficult to stay on their feet, let alone challenge the Neoshadows. "W-What's going on?", yelps fearful Roche, his knees knocking together.

"Yuffie!", Squall calls out from the copper catwalk. "What do you see out there?"

On the path outside where her allies stood, Yuffie looks over the wall and sees entire packs of Heartless amassing near and around the reactor. "Whoa… That's a _looooot_ of baddies…", she comments. Looking to the sky then, she sees the giant sphere of darkness sucking everything up. "And _that_ doesn't look too good either…"

At her feet, Aerith notices cracks starting to appear in the ground. An omen, to be certain. "The entire city's breaking apart…! We have to get out of here _**now**_!"

Squall, however, argues, "And allow the Heartless to have their way with our home? Never!"

Just then, the light within Roche resonates with the light of another some distance away, drawing his gaze southward. "What's…?"

_Come on! Give me your best shot!_

"…Sis?", says the boy in a hopeful whisper.

Noticing his odd behavior, Aerith calls, "Roche? What's the matter?"

_Agh! Come on, get it together!_

Roche's feet start to carry him forward. "Is… Is that you, Sis…?"

"Roche, what is it?"

"…Sorry, guys, but…I have to go!" The youth with golden-brown hair breaks into a dash back toward the castle town.

"Wait! Roche, where are you going? Aah!" The shaking-loose and fall of stone fragments above her prevents Aerith from pursuing. "Come back!"

…At the base of a flight of stairs leading to the castle doors, Ciel too has a hard time keeping his balance in the middle of the tremors and gale force winds. And the sudden onrush of Heartless made things no easier for him. "Argh! It's Aubade Town all over again!" At that moment, just as Roche had before him, Ciel detects violent fluctuations of light not far from where he stood. "Is that…?" The irregular sensation turns his eyes to the south, past a locked gate and to the central square at the bottom of a staircase. "…It's gotta be!" With the unlocking properties of the Pierce the Skies, Ciel does away with the gate lock and races south.

Marin, holding out the Deepest Blue, pelts the leathery hide of the Behemoth with a continuous barrage of Fire, Thunder, and Blizzard, maintaining this pattern for a solid twenty seconds or so, but to little effect; the spells do little more than scuff its skin. "What is this?", Marin flusters. "None of my spells are working against this thing!"

With a confrontational growl, the Behemoth picks up its right fore leg and swings it down upon Marin, knocking the Keyblade out of her hand.

"Ah!"

Then, with that same leg, the beast smacks Marin into a wall with the back of its claw.

Marin lets out a pained groan, as that smack was felt to have dislodged something. She would need a moment to get her strength back, but with the Behemoth bearing down on her, a moment was more than she had. Raising its left leg this time, the Behemoth makes ready to crush the girl beneath the weight of its claw. And with her right hand briefly rendered numb, Marin was unable to defend herself. The Heartless' colossal claw drops; Marin could practically count the number of milliseconds it took for the attack to connect… "!"

"_**AEROGA!**_"

A fierce gust of wind suddenly envelops Marin like a protective shield; as the Heartless' claw connects, it's met by a sensation akin to dozens of sharp-edged blades cutting into its skin, and the beast backs away.

"?" As the spherical tempest enshrouds her, Marin glances around her vicinity and spots a boy with teal-colored hair standing off to the side. "Ciel!", she happily exclaims.

"_**Curaga!**_"

Following this, Marin is bathed in a warm orange-yellow glow and an illusion of flower petals and leaves rain upon her from above. In the warmth of this light, the injuries she'd sustained thus far are mended. Looking around her once more, Marin spots a little boy with hair of goldenrod standing at a ledge behind her. The redhead almost wept at the sight of him. "Roche!"

Not to be ignored – and still in some amount of pain – the Chaos Behemoth roars its loudest at the three.

Marin rises to her feet and recovers her Keyblade as Ciel's Aero wears off. "Hmph! Looks like the reunion'll have to wait! You guys with me?"

"Always!", Ciel replies.

To which Roche adds, "You know it!"

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder and with Keyblades at the ready, the trio confronts the bellowing Heartless as Radiant Garden crumbles all around them.

The Chaos Behemoth leaps forward to stomp its claws on the ground. Ciel evades to the beast's left side while Roche and Marin dash to its right. Pointing the Keyblade out to his side, Ciel fires upon the enemy with bullets of air. However, the bullets only disperse into harmless wisps of air upon impact. Opting for a physical approach, Roche attempts to rip into the Heartless' side with Ars Arcanum, but fails to get past even the first strike as the Keyblade clangs against the beast's skin like steel connecting with rock. With a horizontal swing of its fore leg, the Chaos Behemoth smacks Roche away. Marin comes back around to the Heartless' front, leaping up and swinging the Keyblade at its face. In a manner similar to Roche, the attack deals little damage, and the monster seemed more annoyed than hurt. It hooks its great tusks into Marin's shirt and flings her over itself. As she goes flying, Marin takes aim at the Behemoth's back, firing upon it with a hail of Ragnarok. The beams of light that connect with its back do as little as expected, but when one strikes its red horn, the Heartless winces and growls. Marin raises a curious brow at this. Upon returning to the ground, she dashes toward the Behemoth's backside, jumps onto his back, and delivers a fierce vertical slash to its horn. Like before, it lets out a pained growl, shaking Marin off with a head jerk.

"The horn!", Marin cries while airborne. "Go for the horn! That's its weak spot!"

With this knowledge, Ciel and Roche spring into action. The two dash around the beast's stomp shockwaves, and when an opening reveals itself, Roche summons a meteor to strike the horn from above. As the Chaos Behemoth reels from the spell, Ciel jumps up and adds to its pain with a furious Windcutter. The Heartless lets out a weak howl as its legs wobble, struggling to keep standing. Leaping to a nearby ledge, Ciel focuses his sights on the horn and prepares to launch a Strike Raid attack, but not before the enemy puts its foot down (quite literally). With an angry stomp, the Chaos Behemoth calls down a storm of bluish-violet lightning to strike where Ciel, Roche, and Marin stood. One collective scream in agony later, the trio falls over. As they lie immobilized, the mammoth stomps a few feet forward until it stands over Ciel. It gathers dark energy between its tusks and gets ready to release it unto the fallen Keyblade master. But at the last second, the Heartless' head is drawn forcibly rearward, causing it to release the accumulated dark energy into the sky to become one with the giant sphere of darkness hanging in the sky over Radiant Garden. Atop the Behemoth's back, Roche uses its tusks like reins and rides it about the square, and the Heartless attempts to throw the kid like a bucking bronco.

"Leave my friend alone!", Roche shouts, trying to maintain his grip.

Ciel rises to his feet and brandishes the Pierce the Skies, wrapping the blade with slicing winds. "Roche, move!", he calls out.

The Chaos Behemoth shifts its head on one direction, and Roche lets go of its tusks and springs to safety…

…while Ciel executes his intended Strike Raid. With the blade encased in wind, Ciel guides the weapon through the air toward the Heartless' head. Then, with a quick swipe of his arm…

…the spiraling Keyblade severs the Behemoth's horn clear from its base. The beast cries out in agonizing pain a final time, and as its collapses, Marin moves in, diving under its legs, sliding across the ground to its underside, and thrusting the Deepest Blue into the heart of its emblem. In mere seconds, the giant Heartless that menaced the square would be nothing more than particles in the blackened air.

"Sis!", Roche wails, running up to embrace his dear sister Marin. "I thought I'd never find you!"

"Roche, what on Earth are you doing here?", Marin shouts, not that she wasn't happy to see her little brother. "And Ciel! I thought I told you to stay at home and look after him!"

A flustered Ciel responds, "It's not my fault! Roche disappeared around the same time you did, so I went to look for him! I was just…trying to keep my promise…!"

"…Alright, whatever. We'll save this for later. Right now, we've gotta get to the ship before this place completely falls apart!"

"Gotcha!"

One ordeal down. Ciel, Roche, and Marin turn to the south and bolt toward the hangar.

…As the earth trembles beneath their feet, the anxious populace of Radiant Garden is led aboard Cid's Gummi Ships, each ready to transport its group of passengers off Radiant Garden and to somewhere safe. Outside one such ship, Cid directs one crowd of people with arm movements. "That's it! Single file, one at a time! And no shovin'! There's room for everybody!", he instructs. Looking to the city for a moment, he watches it get dragged into the darkness in chunks. "…Tch! Can't believe this is happenin'!"

"_HYAH!_"

Defending the crowds from the Heartless as they evacuate are the members of the Extermination Squad, braving their numbers with sword, gunblade, and shuriken. "Darkness-loving bastards!", snarls Squall as his blade cleaves a Darkball in two. "I'm not going down without a fight!", he continues…unaware of the evil lurking behind.

With a gasp, Aerith shrieks, "_Squall, watch out!_"

"!" Squall spins around to meet the eyes of a pouncing Armored Knight. He brings his weapon up to guard, but all goes blood-red in an instant when the Knight brings its sword down upon the brown-haired teen, delivering a deep diagonal cut across his face. "_**AAAGGGHHHH!**_"

"SQUALL!"

Squall drops to his knees in excruciating agony, pressing his palms to his face. Above him, the Armored Knight raises his sword to strike a second time…

…but succumbs to an unforgiving Blizzaga, courtesy of Roche's Superquake. "Squall, are you okay?"

Aerith rushes to Squall's side to tend to his wound. "Don't worry, I'll take care of him! Just get to the Gummi Ships!" As Ciel, Roche, and Marin run by, Aerith looks to the city and watches in silent sadness as Merlin's house is pulled away from its foundation and into the sky. '…Radiant Garden… Our home is…!'

The Aubade Town trio race past the city gates and halt before the fleet of ships. "Cid!", Marin calls out to the Gummi Ship engineer/pilot.

Turning to face the three, the grown man snaps, "Well, it's about time y'all got back! What were you doin' – takin' the scenic route?"

"Are the ships ready?"

"All gassed up and rarin' to soar! And I suggest ya do it quick before–"

"Cid!", hollers a fellow pilot as he approaches. "One of the residents is missing! Kairi's nowhere to be found!"

"!" The news of Kairi's absence had struck Ciel like a lead pipe to the skull.

"Say _WHAT_? Are you positive?"

"Absolutely! I even double-checked!"

"WELL, CHECK AGAIN!"

"…Roche, take the _NORA_! I'll be right back!" Motioning a swift about face, Ciel zips across the outer gardens a third time in the direction of the central square.

"Wha– Ciel? Where are you–? _CIEL!_"

The teal-haired Key bearer ignores the city crumbling around and goes to search for the missing Kairi. And he knew just where to start looking. '…Kairi!'

By this time, the city below Hollow Bastion was reduced to little over a quarter of its original prominence; only the outer city limits, central square, and royal gardens remained. And from the looks of it, the royal gardens would be next to go, making the situation all the more harrowing for a certain 5-year-old girl with burgundy hair. As she clings for dear life to the garden steps, Kairi watches with fright and horror as her favorite flowers are carried into the sky to be wiped out of existence. Into the fiercely blowing gales, the little girl cries out, "Grandma!"

"_KAIRI!_"

"Ciel…?"

Through the garden entrance emerges the boy in the yellow hoodie, blowing past any Heartless who dared to obstruct his path.

Kairi's eyes begin to well up. "Ciel!"

As he enters, he spots the girl in the white floral shirt and a pink skirt across the way. "Ah! There you are! Thank–" Just then, as if the boy had jinxed it, a tremendous quake jars loose a large portion of the gardens, and it's carried up into the sky – and Kairi with it. "No!"

Kairi lets out a terrified scream as she falls further away from Ciel.

Positioning himself below her and holding out his arms, Ciel directs, "Quick! Jump down!"

"I can't! I'm scared!", Kairi shouts back through her tears.

"Don't be! I'll catch you! …Hurry, before you're too high up!"

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Kairi rises to her feet, struggling to keep her balance, and takes a most literal 'leap of faith' from the elevating earth, keeping her eyes tightly shut as she fell.

"…Gotcha!"

She lands with a soft rebound, having felt two arms catch her in midair. Opening her eyes, she finds Ciel at the end of said arms.

Through his grin, Ciel says, "Heh. Told you I'd catch you."

"Hehehe…"

Back at the hangar, the last of the civilian ships pulls away from the crumbling Radiant Garden; all that remained were the _Nautilus_ (piloted by Marin), the _NORA_ (by Roche), and Cid's personal Gummi Ship with Squall, Aerith, Yuffie, and Cloud onboard. Squall and Aerith sit side by side in a pair of passenger seats, with Aerith applying a bandage to Squall's injury. "There. You'll be alright now."

"Thanks, Aerith…", Squall says to her dejectedly. Looking to his left, he glances out the window and watches as the royal gardens are reduced to nothingness by the black sphere in the sky. "…" Seething his teeth, he pounds the window with his fist and curses his own powerlessness.

Outside the ship, Cid squints his eyes to see if Ciel had yet returned. By now, the outer gardens were no more than a thin bridge connecting the entryway and the hangar, and before long that bridge would be nonexistent. "Dang it! Where is that boy?"

"He'll make it! Don't worry!", Marin assures through the cockpit loudspeaker.

"…Tch! To heck with this!" Unable to wait any longer, Cid boards his ship, closes the hatch, and begins powering up the engine.

"Mr. Cid?"

"Sorry, folks. No disrespect, but I got a ship full o' young'uns, and I gotta get 'em to safety. I'm hightailin' it outta here, and I suggest y'all do the same." Having said his piece, Cid takes off, wishing his other-world friends the best of luck.

While Cid and the others take flight, Marin looks to the square entryway, beside herself with heart-pounding anxiety. 'Come on, Ciel… Hurry up…!'

"…Sis! I think I see something!"

"!" Gazing into the distance, Marin strains her eyes to see two figures sprinting across the outer garden 'bridge' to the hangar. She bears a smile of overwhelming relief. "…It's them!"

Hand-in-hand, Ciel and Kairi make a mad dash for the ships, the remnants of Radiant Garden collapsing at their backs. Ignoring their shortness of breath, the two run as fast as their legs could carry them.

Marin and Roche power up the engines of their respective vessels and prepare for takeoff. As the _Nautilus_' engine purrs, Marin pokes out of the hatch and extends a hand to the nearing twosome. "C'mon!", she calls to them. "Just a little farther!"

Ciel reaches a hand out as well, and for a moment it seemed that escape was all but a certainty…

…but as the last piece of the 'bridge' gives way, Ciel goes white with dread. Marin's hand felt just inches away, and as the earth beneath his feet breaks away, he now plummets helplessly into oblivion with Kairi.

An identical dread washes over Marin as she witnesses this. "_**CIEL! KAIRI!**_"

The hangar – Radiant Garden's last remaining isle of land suddenly and most violently shifts. "W-Whoa!" Marin is hurled back into the _Nautilus_, and the hatch swings closed with a deafening clang. As the hangar tosses and turns, it's forcefully pulled from its orbit and into the sphere of darkness swirling overhead, causing both the _Nautilus_ and the _NORA_ to be thrown to the oceans of the worlds.

And all is consumed by black.

…A short time later, Ciel, having been knocked unconscious due to being tossed so harshly from Radiant Garden's surface, awakens to find himself and Kairi drifting aimlessly in the Lanes Between, safely housed in a sphere of white. In his arms, young Kairi still lies lifeless. "Hey… Hey, Kairi…! You okay? Wake up!", he quietly shouts, attempting to stir her. As he places his hands on her shoulders to shake her, her light reacts to his own, causing Ciel to be blinded by its intense brilliance. "Aah! What's…?"

_One day, when you're in trouble…_

_The light within you will lead you to the light of another…_

_Someone to keep you safe…_

"W-Who's…?" Within moments, the blinding light dies away, and Ciel reopens his eyes, quickly realizing the white sphere protecting him and Kairi had divided into two halves: him in one half, and Kairi in the other. Placing his hands upon the bubble's inner wall, he shouts to her again. "Kairi! _Kairi!_"

In that instant, a repelling force between the two spheres launches the two in opposite directions, sending them flying across the blaze of stars to separate ends of the galaxy.

Where a haven of sun, sand, and sea awaited one…a foreign, as-of-yet uncharted world awaited the other.


	12. Report 12: Diverging Paths

Gawd, that took forever. I usually don't suffer from writer's block, but when it hits, it hits **HARD**. …Oh, and _Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3_. That's probably to blame too.

So, a couple chapter notes:

1) I was originally gonna have Marin end up in Twilight Town and have her interact a bit with child versions of Hayner, Pence, and Olette. She would find Hayner crying from being picked on by Seifer and cheer him up. But I think I've established the "Marin loves kids" sub-plot well enough by now, and decided on Mysterious Tower instead – not only to develop her character a bit more with the "dark side" of being a Keyblade wielder, but also to give Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather some closure.

2) I had ALWAYS planned for Roche to end up at Disney Castle, but in the original draft I was gonna have him meet King Mickey. I decided in the end it was a bit of a stretch and left him out (aside from a reference to where he is and what he's up to). Plus, I didn't want to give the kid a heart attack. ^_^

3) I had a little trouble setting up Donald's personality here. I know a big part of his character is that he's short-tempered and aggressive, but I just ended up making him a hard-ass. I dunno, I think it works here. Take of it what you will.

Anyways, enjoy, and sorry for the month-long wait. ONE CHAPTER LEFT!

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts is a trademark of Square-Enix and Disney. Any similarities between this and other works submitted are purely coincidental.

* * *

_Three paths, three destinies… Independent yet intertwined… Where will the road lead them…?_

_**Kingdom Hearts ~another side~**_

**~ Report 12: Diverging Paths ~**

The destruction of Radiant Garden had reached far across the oceans of the worlds. Denizens of worlds close by would be treated to the grand sight of a meteor shower – an ironically pleasing view to coincide with Radiant Garden's tragic fate.

Their tearful reunion short-lived, Ciel, Roche, and Marin are thrown to opposing corners of the galaxy.

One such corner: a great, crooked tower of ochre walls and viridian rooftops standing atop a lone floating isle and encircled by an abundance of trees. In the atmosphere of everlasting sunset drift a collection of navy blue clouds and brilliant stars of gold.

Through the large wooden doors leading into the tower, an individual emerges: a tall elderly man with long, gray hair and beard, wearing billowing robes of purest blue and matching cone-shaped hat. The man exits his tower home having been drawn outside by an unfamiliar presence. There, at the inner edge of the tree-lined courtyard, his eyes happen upon an unconscious teenage girl with long, disheveled hair of maroon.

As she lay, Marin exhales short, aching breaths, unable to move on her own after being forcibly thrown from the _Nautilus_. Soft murmurs of "Ciel…" and "Roche…" escape her parted lips.

The man at the top of the tower steps looks upon the girl's form intensely. "…"

…A short time later, after Marin's lifeless body is moved to a soft bed, the girl incessantly shifts about beneath the covers as if suffering from a bad dream. Waking in a cold sweat, she opens her eyes slowly so they may adjust to the light and lets out a heavy sigh of relief, preparing to drift back to sleep. But with a double-take of sorts, Marin quickly sits up, glancing around to realize she wasn't in her bedroom as hoped. 'Where am I…?', she instinctively wonders. Marin rises out of bed and moves toward the nearest window, taking notice of the multitude of trees outside and her high elevation; the ground had to be at least four stories below.

To her rear, a door creaks open, and a petite woman in lime green attire enters carrying a tray of freshly brewed tea. "Oh!" Surprised to see Marin up and about, the lady nearly drops the tray. "You've finally awoken. Thank heavens; we were all worried sick."

Looking to the door behind her, Marin meets the lady's eye… "!"…and nearly goes teary-eyed. "Fauna!" Breaking into a light, joyful jog, Marin runs up to hug the short lady in green.

Reasonably caught off-guard by this, the good fairy Fauna returns the warm embrace. "Hah. It's good to see you doing well too, dear."

"…Ah!" Just as quickly as she wrapped her arms around Fauna, Marin frees her of her hold and meets Fauna's eye again. "Maleficent attacked Radiant Garden! She said she'd 'done away with' Aurora's castle! Is that true? Is the castle really gone? What about Flora and Merryweather? _And Prince Phillip?_"

"Settle down, child…!", cries a flustered Fauna. "My sisters are just fine; they're waiting for us downstairs. Come. We'll explain everything."

"…" With a hesitant nod, Marin calms herself and follows Fauna through the door and down the steps.

One level below, the redhead enters a tower chamber that's been made into a wardrobe room. A number of mirrors, fabrics, textiles, and pieces of knitting instruments litter the chamber. Before Marin stand Fauna and her sister fairies in red and blue Flora and Merryweather, who appear to have made themselves quite at home in this strange tower. "Not long after you left us, Marin…", Flora starts, "…Maleficent had regained the strength she'd lost during yours and Prince Phillip's battle with her, and launched a second attack on the castle. It caught us completely by surprise. Her near-inexhaustible army of Heartless had completely overrun the castle. …We didn't stand a chance."

"Oh, my God…", Marin whispers in quiet horror.

Merryweather continues, "We fought off the foul beasts as best we could, but there were just too many. It was during this that Maleficent got Princess Aurora alone and cast a spell that plunged her into a deep slumber – our magic wasn't powerful to neutralize it. Maleficent had secured Aurora…and the castle finally fell. I'm afraid we're not sure what became of Prince Phillip; we were separated when the Heartless invaded. I fear…the darkness has claimed him as well."

Fauna wraps up the tale with, "After our world sank into the darkness, Flora, Merryweather, and I found refuge from the Heartless here with our dear friend Yen Sid. He may seem standoffish, but he's really a kind and generous man."

"…This is my fault…"

"Hmm? Did you say something, dearie?"

With an expression of heart-wrenching guilt, Marin falls to her knees, and the tears start to form. "I'm so sorry, you three…! I should've put an end to Maleficent when I had the chance…! This is all my fault!", she sobs.

"What are you saying, Marin? You aren't to blame for–"

"Yes, I am! If I had stopped Relena before this all started, she wouldn't have been able to spread her poison to other worlds, and Maleficent wouldn't have become strong enough to take Aurora prisoner _and_ take over Hollow Bastion! Everything leads back to me! I'm the cause of it all! It's because I'm so _weak_!" Marin falls over to her knees and buries her face in her palms, appearing to plead for the good fairies' forgiveness. "I'm so sorry!", she cries hysterically. "I don't deserve to be a wielder of the Keyblade!"

The fairy sisters share a fleeting glance with each other before looking upon Marin with deep sympathy. They were moved, if not a little embarrassed, by her acceptance of all the blame, regardless of who was involved and to what effect. As she steps toward the weeping girl, Flora kneels down before her, picking her head up and wiping her tears away with a handkerchief. "Now, now, child. We'll have none of that self-pity talk. What happened to Princess Aurora and our home was not your fault, and you are most certainly not weak. I won't have you believing otherwise."

"But–"

"No buts. As long as Maleficent doesn't have the power of the Keyblade at her disposal, Aurora is safe. Knowing this, we can move forward with our heads held high."

"…"Albeit undecidedly, Marin takes Flora's kind and reassuring words to heart and rises to her feet. "…Yeah. You're right. The others would probably laugh at me if I gave up _this_ early. I can still do some good with the Keyblade, right?"

Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather all smile and nod their heads, showing their undying support for the girl.

At this time, a fifth presence makes itself known, entering from the side with, "It would appear you've found your answer."

Turning to her 10 o'clock, Marin comes face-to-face with the elderly man in blue who had found her outside the tower. The severity of his wide-eyed expression sends chills down her spine.

The good fairies aren't nearly as startled. "Ah. Hello, Master Yen Sid.", Fauna greets.

Stepping forward, the man known as Yen Sid addresses Marin. "Marin, is it? I am pleased to see you are well. I've been waiting for you for to awaken so we may have a talk."

"Sorry about that."

"Think nothing of it. …Would you excuse us, ladies? I would speak to the Keyblade girl alone in my study."

"Of course."

Exiting through the same doorway he'd entered through, Yen Sid departs for the next chamber over. Marin follows close behind…

…but not before being momentarily stopped by the good fairies. "Oh! One moment, child.", says Merryweather.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"We have something for you. We were waiting until you woke up so we could give it to you. Hold out your hands."

As Marin does as instructed, the fairies wave their magic wands in unison and produce an orb of magic in her hands. The orb had a gentle warmth to it and shone with the fairies' signature colors of warm scarlet, calm jade, and cool azure. "What is it…?", Marin asks.

"A gift.", answers Merryweather.

Fauna adds, "A great power which, in times of desperation, will grant you the strength you need to prevail over the darkness."

"You are not weak, Marin…", Flora begins anew, "…because you are not alone. Believe in your friends' strength just as they believe in yours…and this power will bring you great victory."

Marin looks up from the orb's vibrant glow and gives a smile to her fairy friends. "…Thank you, ladies. I won't let you down. I promise."

"We know, my dear. We have the utmost faith in you."

…In his study one room over, Yen Sid stands at the open window with hands clasped behind his back, appearing deep in thought. Gazing up to the twilight sky, he sternly laments over the gaps between the stars – worlds that once were but have long since blinked out. Even as Marin enters from the side, his eyes remain affixed to the skies above. "…Such providence that the stars have blessed you and your friends with. Not one genuine wielder of the Keyblade, but three. And you, child…" Pausing for a moment, Yen Sid faces away from the window and meets Marin's eye. "…You demonstrate a most promising aptitude for it – one worthy of the Mark of Mastery, I'd venture to say."

"T-Thanks…I think.", Marin timidly says. "Who are you?"

Yen Sid moves toward his chair and seats himself. "My name is Yen Sid. I am the keeper of this tower. Like you, I too was once a chosen wielder of the Keyblade, but have long since discarded the title of "master". Now, I am but a humble sorcerer, tasked with keeping a close watch on the light and the darkness, ensuring they stay in equal balance. …However, in light of recent events, it would seem that some aspire to disrupt this balance, employing the power of the Heartless."

"Maleficent…and _Relena_… I fought her as best as I could…but I guess my best wasn't good enough. And because of it, Aurora…!" Down at her sides, Marin's hands quiver in helplessness.

"I'm aware of your efforts. You and your friends pursued Relena across many worlds, met many people, and made many new companions. But in doing so, you violated a most sacred and honor-bound doctrine."

"Doctrine…?"

"Ever since the Heartless' arrival, and the barriers dividing the worlds were destroyed, certain decrees were put into effect so as to keep the worlds segregated. Perhaps most paramount of these decrees is this: Those who elect to travel between worlds are not to involve themselves in the affairs of those worlds, or to reveal the existence of other worlds to their inhabitants. Rulers of each world have been made aware of this principle, and have thus far abided by it. This holds especially true for Keyblade wielders, whose duty of protecting the worlds from the Heartless requires interplanetary travel."

This was the first Marin had ever heard of such a rule. And with each world visitation, she had broken it. Lowering her head, she repents, "I… I'm sorry. I-I didn't know."

A forgiving Yen Sid returns, "It is alright, my child. You simply acted as your heart dictated, and your actions have not disrupted the world order in any way."

"But Aurora! And Radiant Garden!"

"The falls of the Enchanted Dominion and the Radiant Garden, as well as the capture of Princess Aurora, were all unforeseen occurrences. Unfortunate occurrences, but unforeseen all the same. All will be returned to as it was when Maleficent and her evil are extinguished."

"Sounds good to me! I've got a score to settle with that witch anyhow!"

"Maleficent is not your concern. She will be dealt with in time; the Princesses of Heart are not in any immediate danger. Moreover, you've your own dilemma to see to, do you not? Finding your friends and putting an end to Relena's malice."

"Where _is_ Relena, Yen Sid? Every time I think I've finally tracked her down, she manages to get away. I'm starting to think _she's_ the one following _me_, and she only shows herself when there's fun to be had at my expense."

"I am unsure of her location, I'm afraid. I sense an overwhelming force of darkness, but it comes from multiple sources. She could be at any one of them."

"What about Ciel and Roche? They got away safely, right? Where are they now?"

"Your little brother is safe, that much is assured. He's amongst allies. Your friend Ciel, however, has been thrown far, and he now lies somewhere in the realm that bestrides both the light and the dark – somewhere…in between."

"Do you know where exactly?"

"I cannot say for certain. But as long as his heart remains unyielding against the darkness, your light will surely lead you to his."

"…If you say so." Her tone may have suggested doubt, but Marin was quite relieved in actuality. She may not have known Ciel's precise location, but simply knowing he was alive put her heart at ease. And if he escaped Radiant Garden's collapse, so must've Kairi, she thought. "…?" Just then, the out-of-place sound of a working engine turns her attention past Yen Sid and toward the window behind him. Within moments, a space vessel rises from below and hovers just outside. "The _Nautilus_!"

"Be careful on your way, Marin.", says Yen Sid in his bid farewell.

"…Thank you, Master Yen Sid." Moving forward around Yen Sid's desk, Marin hops up to the windowsill and prepares to jump to the cockpit. But one last question lingered at the back of her mind – a question she desperately desired the answer to. "…About Relena…", she starts to the elderly sorcerer. "Back in Aubade Town, I told Ciel, now that Relena was a Heartless, she was beyond saving. I guess I always held onto the hope that I was wrong. But after running into her at Radiant Garden… I was right, wasn't I? There really is no way to save her, is there…?"

"…" Keeping silent, Yen Sid turns away and solemnly closes his eyes…

…which, oddly enough, was all the answer Marin needed. "…I see.", she closes off with. With a firm push off the windowsill, Marin falls into the pilot's seat with a soft plop and ascends to the star-spangled sky above Yen Sid's tower. The _Nautilus_ soon pulls away from the world and takes off for the far reaches of the Lanes Between. As the numerous worlds and countless stars pass by like streaks of light, Marin dwells on Yen Sid's knowledgeable words.

"…_As long as his heart remains unyielding against the darkness, your light will surely lead you to his…"_

"'Somewhere in between'… Between the light and the dark?", she contemplates. Focusing away from what was in front of her, the Keyblade-wielding redhead closes her eyes and attempts to 'feel out' Ciel's light in the black abyss of space.

'Ciel… Wherever you are… I'll be there soon…'

…As Marin's search across the cosmos resumes, another Aubade Town local's search has yet to begin, finding himself in a situation much like that of the world prior. As little Roche lets out soft breaths and groans, a small assembly of unfamiliar voices converse inaudibly over him. "…Ah!" Stirred from his daze when something cold and wet presses against his cheek, the boy finds himself in the immediate company of a friendly dog with tangerine fur and long, black, floppy ears, having been awoken by its lick. Glancing up, Roche meets the eye of three additional odd-looking characters: a short white-feathered duck in blue magician's clothing, a tall floppy-eared dog in knight's armor, and a short large-eared mouse wearing an elegant gown of pink and red. Compared to his encounter with the Heartless Extermination Squad, these individuals appeared far less intimidating, allowing for a somewhat smoother meet-and-greet. "Uh… Hello.", Roche uneasily greets.

"G'mornin'!", says the canine knight back.

Attempting to rise to his feet, Roche quickly stumbles from dizziness and the stinging pain in his sides.

"_Wak!_", squawks the duck in blue, rushing over to catch his fall. "Take it easy!"

"S-Sorry. Thanks." Now standing steady, the 13-year-old finally takes notice of his new locale: yet another castle – color scheme similar to the Enchanted Dominion, but with slightly warped towers that gave it a cartoony look and atmosphere. To his rear was a grand bookcase filled with a vast collection of books; it covered the whole of the west wall. "What is this place? And who are you guys?"

"You're in King Mickey's castle.", the knight starts again. "Name's Goofy. This is Donald…", he continues, referring to the quacking mage. "…and this here's Queen Minnie."

"Q-Queen?" Then, without thinking, Roche lowers his arms to his sides and politely bows. "Sis says to always bow when meeting important people! It's, um, a pleasure to meet you! My name's Roche!"

Minnie, Donald, and Goofy have themselves a short laugh at the gesture. "Your 'Sis' taught you well, Roche, but you can relax.", the little queen insists. "Feel free to address me as you would a close friend. We found you out in the courtyard after your Gummi Ship crashed."

"The Gummi Ship! That's right!", Roche suddenly exclaims. "I can't stay here! I gotta find Ciel and Marin! They could be hurt or– Agh!" The boy is cut short when Donald hops upon him and tries to restrain him.

"Settle down, will ya? You ain't goin' nowhere in your condition!"

"G-Get off o' me, you dumb turkey!"

"_Who are you callin' a turkey, kid?_"

The juvenile struggle only comes to an end when Goofy intervenes, hoisting the two up by their collars. "Now, now. Play nice, you two. We're all friends here."

"Hmph!"

"I agree with Donald, Roche. You should wait until your injuries fully heal before going on your way. Besides, the ship you arrived in got hit pretty badly too. Chip and Dale are making repairs on it right now."

"…Okay…", Roche concedes, considering his situation.

Goofy sets him and Donald down after making sure the two weren't going to claw at each other again. "So how'd you end up here anyway?", he asks the diminutive dirty-blond boy then.

"Well…" Thus does the young Key bearer regale his new friends about the trials and tribulations of his interstellar escapades and how they culminated in his brief reunion with his friends, their subsequent separation, and the Radiant Garden's collapse.

It wasn't a tale the three listeners were particularly ecstatic to sit through. "My gosh…", says Minnie in a shaky whisper. "Radiant Garden is gone?"

"Gawrsh…", the equally-as-shocked Goofy adds. "Sounds like you've been through quite a lot."

Donald lets out an angry squawk at this news. "Blasted Heartless! They're nothing but trouble!"

"Well, tragic as it may have been, there's no point in dwelling on it. At least everyone got away safely. And if you made it out okay, Roche, I'm sure your friends did too."

"Yeah… You're prob'ly right. Thanks, Minnie."

"Now, I'm sure you're more than eager to find your friends and get back home, so I'm gonna go check Chip and Dale and see how the repairs are coming along. Donald, Goofy, why don't you give Roche a tour of the castle?"

Goofy and Donald give an assenting salute to their queen. "Sure thing, your Highness!", replies Goofy.

"Enjoy your stay, Roche. And don't worry, you'll be safe from the Heartless here." With that, Minnie takes her leave of the library and heads for the Gummi hangar.

Left in the company of his new friends Goofy and Donald, Roche excitedly takes them by the hand and pulls them toward the door. "Well, what are we waiting for? I wanna see _everything_ in this castle!", he exclaims.

Pushy though the kid was, Goofy couldn't help but chuckle at his enthusiasm. Donald, on the other hand, was more than a little annoyed – and it certainly showed.

The first stop on the castle tour was the audience chamber, which housed King Mickey's throne. Considering the size of the chamber, it felt more like a ballroom. "So you said this castle belongs to someone named 'Mickey'?", the awestruck Roche begins. "Where is he?"

"We're not really sure.", Goofy answers. "He sent us a letter that said he was 'investigating the growing darkness' and 'looking for a friend of his that disappeared'."

"Hmm…"

Approaching the left side of Mickey's throne, Goofy turns to face the child. "Hey, Roche. You wanna see somethin' really cool?"

"'Cool'? Totally!"

"A-hyuck! Okay then! Hold onto yer–!"

"_**GOOFY!**_", Donald shrieks, leaping in to stop Goofy from doing whatever it was he was about to do. "You know the rules! No one from outside the kingdom is allowed inside the Hall of the Cornerstone!"

"What's the 'Cornerstone'…?"

"Nothing! It's a secret!"

"Oh, come on! Aren't I a guest in your castle?"

"Aw, phooey! Let's go! There's nothing else to see here!"

As Goofy and Donald walk past toward the door they entered through, Goofy gives an apologetic look to their guest. Roche pockets his hands and puffs up his cheeks a little in irritation. "Stingy little goose…", he grumbles under his breath before stepping forward to join them.

Just past the colonnade, the trio reaches stop #2 on the castle tour: the courtyard, where Roche's body had fallen upon crash-landing in the _NORA_. As they enter the sun-drenched garden, Roche is treated to a both remarkable and amusing sight: a great field of green hedges, big band topiary, a rainbow of flowers, and a small-scale hedge of King Mickey's castle in the center to complete the landscape. "Cool…", Roche utters with eyes alight in amazement.

"Sure is.", adds Goofy. "This is my favorite part of the castle. Great for takin' afternoon naps."

"I bet…"

All of a sudden, as if to disrupt the peace that the courtyard typically observed, a group of portals into the darkness open up before the three, allowing a number of Shadows and Soldiers to pass through and emerge.

"Heartless?", Roche cries in shock. "I thought Queen Minnie there weren't any Heartless here!"

"They only started showin' up recently! We haven't told Queen Minnie about 'em 'cuz we don't wanna worry her!", Goofy explains. As he reaches his hand out, a momentary flash of light coats it, and a shield materializes in his grasp. "C'mon, Donald!"

"Right!", says Donald, drawing a wizard's staff in the same manner. "Let's get to it!"

To the two's rear, Roche asks, "Can I help?"

"No!", Donald squeals almost instantly. "You'll just get in the way! Stay here, and keep outta trouble!"

As Donald and Goofy go to confront the Heartless with their physical and magical might, Roche clenches his hands into tight fists as the duck's condescending words sink in. "'Get in the way', huh? We'll see about that!"

"…_**Thunder!**_"

Donald does away with a couple Shadows with a flourish of lightning, while Goofy elects a more direct approach by barreling down several Soldiers with his 'battering ram' shield. Before long, only a single Heartless – a Bolt Tower – remained. Donald raises his staff and gives a confident grin. "Piece o' cake! _**THUNDER!**_" He calls down a second, stronger bolt of lightning, which the floating Heartless proceeds to absorb into the antenna atop its crown. Temporarily puzzled by this, Donald conjures a third lightning bolt, and again the Bolt Tower absorbs it. "What's the big idea?", squawks the frustrated magician.

Disregarding Donald's exasperation, the Bolt Tower's eyes and antenna emit an intense glow of gold. And using the energy it absorbed from Donald's magic, it calls down a powerful lightning bolt of its own to zap the wizard before it.

Donald's quack of pain echoes across the courtyard, and Roche shields his eyes from the flashing electric light. When the light finally subsides, Donald is left suffering from burnt robes, singed feathers, and a bout of uncontrollable spasms. "…Ow…"

With the court magician stunned, the Bolt Tower reels its head backward and prepares to finish Donald off with a crushing blow…!

"_**Firaga!**_"

The Heartless' attack is suddenly interrupted, however, by an oncoming sphere of fire, causing it to stagger toward the rear. Roche jumps in and finishes the Bolt Tower off with a vertical slash that severs its body in two along the emblem at its midsection. The Heartless disintegrates into nothing, and Roche plants his feet on the ground…

…with Keyblade in hand.

"A Keyblade…!", marvels Goofy.

To which the charred Donald adds, "Just like the King's…!"

Roche turns to his allies with a smirk, propping the Superquake on his shoulder triumphantly. "So…", he starts, "…what was that about being 'in the way'?"

With the band of Heartless eradicated, Goofy and Roche share a victorious high-five. "Nice job, Roche! Ya sure showed that Heartless who's boss!"

"Hehehe…"

In the corner of Goofy's eye, Donald bitterly faces away and folds his arms. "Hmph. I coulda handled that by myself, y'know. I don't remember asking for your help."

By this point, the Keyblade-wielding youngster had just about enough of Donald's demeanor. "What's your problem?", Roche barks at the magician. "Queen Minnie and Goofy seem to like me just fine, but you've been acting like a jerk the whole time I've been here! What'd I ever do to you, huh?"

"My problem is brats like you who stick their noses where they don't belong! I'm King Mickey's court magician! Goofy's the captain of the royal knights! We don't need help from a little kid like you, so just _BUTT OUT!_"

Roche goes slightly wide-eyed at Donald's outburst; while such behavior was expected by other occupants in the castle, it was new to him. Caught off-guard, he becomes tongue-tied, and the courtyard goes silent – save for Donald's incensed panting. "'A little kid'… I've been called that my whole life.", Roche begins again. "That's all anyone sees when they look at me – a little kid. And maybe I am. But you know what? I'm more than that. I'm also a Keyblade master. I may be little, but I've been fighting the Heartless just as long as you have. And not just me. Ciel, Marin, Squall, Aerith, Yuffie, your King – just like you, we all have something we want to protect. And we all have something to contribute." Roche pauses and grasps the Superquake with both hands. "It's okay to ask for help once in a while; we could all use some every now and then. Even if it's not a lot, every little bit counts. That's why I can count on my friends to be there for me when I need 'em." Taking another pause, Roche looks up to meet Goofy's eye. "Goofy's there when you need him, right? And if you can call me a friend, Donald…you can count on me to be there for you too."

It was Donald's turn to be stricken speechless. In more ways than one, the boy standing in front of him reminded him of King Mickey: one who valued friendship over duty, one looking to find light in a universe blanketed by darkness. He glances down at Roche's extended hand. Would he accept the olive branch or spurn it? "…Um…"

…Just then… "Hey, you guys!", a high-pitched voice calls out from the side.

The trio turns to face the voice and is approached by a pair of tiny brown-furred chipmunks, seen scurrying across the flower garden as quickly as their little arms and legs could manage. The two critters hop up and down at the trio's feet, spouting speech that – to the trio standing above them – could only be heard as high-pitched, fast-paced gibberish. "W-Whoa! Who are these guys, and why are they talking so fast?"

"Chip! Dale! Talk slower, would ya?"

"We _said_…", yelps the black-nosed Chip, "…we installed a Radar Gummi on Roche's ship and detected something moving through hyperspace!"

"Yeah! Movin' real fast too!", Dale says, joining in. "It was another Gummi Ship! A model we'd never seen before!"

Another Gummi Ship? Of an unfamiliar model? Quickly walking over, Roche kneels down to Chip and Dale's level. "Can you show me?"

"Sure! Just follow us!"

With Chip and Dale leading the group, Roche, Donald, and Goofy are led into the hangar, where Queen Minnie awaited beneath a mountain of machinery. She hears them descend the steps behind her and turns to face them. "There you are. Thank goodness. All these machines and their clicking and humming is making me a little uneasy."

"Don't worry, your Highness.", says Chip. "This won't take long."

Dale climbs up onto a computer console and hops about the keyboard to work the keys, causing an abstract image to appear on a large nearby monitor.

Though only a silhouette, Roche recognizes it in an instant. "That's it! The _Nautilus_! My sister's flying that ship! Any idea where she's going?"

"Dunno. I'm not picking up on any worlds in that general direction. But wherever she's headin', she's sure in a hurry."

"Your ship's all fixed up. If you leave now, you can catch up to her!"

"Right! …Uh…how do I get to my ship from here?"

With a short chuckle, Dale replies, "Leave that to us!" Moving over to a more complex control panel then, he pulls at a short lever…

"H-HEY!" …which causes a white hand-shaped crane to snatch Roche up and carry him over to the _NORA_'s cockpit. "Put me down!", cries Roche, flailing his arms and legs about. When he's finally dropped into the pilot's seat, he stands up to shout at his laughing friends. "Not funny!"

Humorous launch complications aside, Roche was at last ready to take off in the NORA and go after Marin, wherever her present course was currently taking her. The engine starts up, and the ship is lifted up on a conveyor to a position more suited to blasting off. Through the cockpit window, Roche meets his friends' eyes one last time. As they wave a fond farewell, he returns with an assured thumbs-up. He faces forward, takes a hold of the controls, and cries out, "Here we go– _**OOOOHHHHHH!**_"

In what results in the most graceless launch of all time, the NORA falls through the tube in the floor and is ejected from the hangar's underside into the Lanes Between.

Chip has himself a short laugh at this as well. "Probably shoulda warned him about that…"

…Meanwhile, somewhere in the depths of the in-between, the last Radiant Garden survivor has yet to awaken from his ordeal, not as fortunate as Roche or Marin to be discovered by an ally and nursed to health. Sometime after parting ways with little Kairi, Ciel winds up here in this strange, never-before-seen realm. The teal-haired lad soon regains consciousness on a cold path of coral and lavender, almost icy to the touch. He exhales a lengthy groan and slowly picks himself up, his arms and legs wobbly and numb. When he manages to kneel upright, he gazes straight ahead to examine his surroundings, however blurry his eyesight was.

The atmosphere was dense with the aroma of light and the stench of darkness.

The sky rippled with an unnatural blend of green, white, and indigo.

And the path at Ciel's knees zigzagged up to a massive construct: a citadel whose walls burned a dark shade of bronze and towers stretched every which way. Ciel couldn't tell if he was looking at the building upside-down or right-side up. Not "beautiful and terrifying" like Hollow Bastion – it seemed like the stuff of nightmares.

As his eyes adjust, Ciel rises to his feet and looks around himself a little more thoroughly. With the exception of the citadel and the short path leading up to it, there was nothing for miles. Black stretched as far as he could see.

"…Where am I…?", the boy finally utters, failing miserably at masking his fear.


	13. Report 13: Lost in Oblivion

Well, here it is – the last chapter (or "report" as I call them because I'm a dork).

I actually have no notes about this chapter; it is what it is. Overall, this was a fun story – one I'm particularly proud of. My only regret is that I didn't make Roche stand out more as a central character; Ciel and Marin definitely stole the show.

Enjoy, and I'll see ya at the bar. Drinks are on me.

In the words of the immortal Martin Lawrence: "Ride this mother 'til the wheels fall off." When next we meet, dear readers.

**Disclaimer**: Kingdom Hearts is a trademark of Square-Enix and Disney. Any similarities between this and other works submitted are purely coincidental.

* * *

_A world that straddles the boundary between light and dark… Unwelcome guests beware…_

_**Kingdom Hearts ~another side~**_

**~ Report 13: Lost in Oblivion ~**

With Roche in possession of the Gummi Ship _NORA_, Ciel had no means of escaping this floating island in the depths of black. Moreover, would his friends be able to locate him? The boy's eyes once again fall upon the distorted castle behind him, strangely drawn to it. Was it the warmth of its light that was pulling him in, or the temptation of the darkness?

In either case, Ciel found himself standing in the citadel's main foyer a mere handful of moments later. The entire room glistened a pale bluish-white. Intricate rose patterns decorated the walls, and diamond patterns lined the floor and ceiling. There was a distinct majesty about the room that reminded Ciel of Olympus Coliseum; at the same time, it brought thoughts of Aubade Town to his mind, though he knew not why.

A deafening slam pulls the lad's eyes rearward, as the door he'd entered through closes shut. Whatever mysterious force drew him into the castle wasn't about to let him leave. "…" He keeps to himself for the time being and gazes forward once more. Only one other door led out of the room, and it seemed to be Ciel's only remaining option. Something was keeping him here, so he decides to seek it out…and disable it.

The large door slowly creaks open, as if sensing his approach, and Ciel steps into the blinding  
light beyond.

In the middle of his forward march, the clack of Ciel's shoes against the rock-hard floor relaxes to that of a soft rustle, like the crunching of grass underfoot. The intense brightness surrounding him lifts…

"!"

…and he finds himself on Aubade Town's Twinkle Hill of all places.

"I… I'm home…?"

At the edge of the hill, leaning against a four-foot-high fence, stands a trio of friends looking out toward the white vastness Aubade Town so comfortably observed. The two girls stood almost equally in height (with the blonde winning out by just a couple of inches) while the boy's height was roughly 2/3 theirs.

Ciel recognized the boy and the redhead in an instant, even with their backs turned. "Roche… Marin…" The blonde he recognized as well, albeit with a bit more shock. "Relena…?"

Relena turns to the teal-haired kid at her rear and motions a friendly wave. "Hey! You're late!"

"W-What?", a puzzled Ciel mutters. "Who, me?"

Just then, a fourth boy runs out from behind Ciel to join the three at the hill's edge. He appeared to be between Roche and the girls in terms of age, and like Ciel, he had a full head of blue-green hair. Breathless, he greets the trio upon approach. "Hey, guys!"

"It's about time, Ciel.", comments Marin. "We almost gave up hope!"

"Probably taking another of his extra-long naps.", Relena adds.

Ciel watches on as the group shares a laugh. "Wait. I remember this. This was back before the Heartless showed up. …Before Relena left us."

The four friends look out toward the sunset, its rays of red and orange washing over the city. A brisk autumn wind blows over, and the group's hair sways to its rhythm.

"I'm surprised you guys decided to spend time with me today.", Relena begins to her entourage. "I don't think your folks would like that you're hanging out with such a 'bad influence'."

"You're not a bad influence, Relena.", says little Roche. "You're lots of fun!"

Relena gives a moved smile as she ruffles Roche's hair. "Heh. And you're sweet for saying so. This may be the most boring city ever…but as long as you guys are around…it's not so bad."

"…Relena…", Ciel somberly whispers at the four's rear, wondering how a soul such as Relena's could change so drastically. "…Huh?"

At that moment, the shadows that the group cast on the grass appear to spring to life; they detach themselves from the ground and take the form of two Shadows, a Soldier, and a Darkball.

Instinctively, Ciel draws the Pierce the Skies Keyblade and takes an attack stance. "Tch! Even in my memories…!", he grumbles before charging in.

With a swift dash-and-slash, he makes quick work of the Soldier and one of the Shadows, but the remaining Shadow and Darkball manage to slither out of harm's way and toward the other end of the hill.

Succumbing to his basest of Keyblade master instincts, Ciel gives chase. "Get back here!"

As the two Heartless flee through a light-filled doorway that opens up, Ciel follows and winds up in a white room much like the castle's main foyer. There, he corners the Shadow and Darkball, now joined by a Wyvern and a Defender. Nevertheless, Ciel stands his ground. "Hmph!"

A brief battle ensues, and the Heartless are dispatched with a bit more effort than is typically required from the kid with the Keyblade. He tucks his weapon away and takes a moment to catch his breath and assess. "So much for finally being back home… What's the deal with this place? It's showing me my own memories? Why…?" A tingling sensation in Ciel's hand turns his eyes downward as something suddenly materializes between his fingers: a strange blue crown-shaped card. Within the card was an image of Aubade Town. "One question gives way to another…", gripes the boy as he grasps the mysterious card tightly. "Well… I'm not gonna get the answers I want just standing here." Facing north, Ciel climbs to the top of a small flight of steps and enters the opposing door.

The next floor brings Ciel to his home world once again – this time, in the middle of a raging inferno. "Whoa! W-What the…?" Understandably alarmed at first, he calms once realizing the illusion at play – the flames didn't burn, nor were they even hot. "This gets weirder and weirder by the second…", the boy comments. Upon closer inspection, Ciel comes to realize he was standing inside an average Aubade Town household. And as he puts his ears to the wind, he notices a chilling sound beyond that of the crackling flames: the sound of spiteful laughter. He approaches a nearby window, peers through the splintered glass, and spots a figure standing right outside.

The figure was that of a female with golden shoulder-length hair and a grin that oozed malice.

"!" Dashing for the front door, Ciel grips the doorknob, flings the door open, and leaps into the light. "Relena!", he cries out into the void, finding himself in yet another white room. "…That look in her eyes… It didn't look…human…" During the teen's in-thought spell, another group of Heartless appears to confront him – three Neoshadows, a Wizard, and an Invisible – prompting him to heave a sigh of frustration. "Clear a floor, and the Heartless show up… Perfect." Drawing the Pierce the Skies again, Ciel goes to work.

…With slightly more effort than before, the Heartless party is eliminated, and Ciel is left even more winded. "Never thought I'd get sick of one place so much so fast…", remarks he before moving on to the next floor.

'Level 3' sees Ciel return to the past Aubade Town a third time, this time as part of a crowd of residents in Morning Plaza. The mob faces down Relena, apparently driving her away from the city.

With a look of desperation, Relena shouts at the crowd. "You're kicking me out? You can't be serious!"

'Wait… Is this…?'

"Kicking me out of my own house is one thing, but out of my own world? I've lived here my whole time! Where am I supposed to go?"

The crowd fills with assorted unintelligible murmurs, but they made it abundantly clear that they didn't care what Relena should do from here on or where she should go.

In the face of this unbelievable act of cruelty, Relena pleads to those in the crowd she considered friends. "M-Marin! Claire, Serah! Why are you guys just standing there? You're not even gonna stick up for me? Say something!"

Ciel spots Marin, Claire, and Serah in the crowd as well, and he too wondered why they refused to defend the would-be evictee. 'They…won't even look her in the eye…?'

"After all we've been through, you're turning your back on me…? How could you…?" Relena's eyes begin to well up with tears, and she bares her teeth in betrayed anger. "I hate you! _I hate you all!_", she screams.

"Stop…", says Ciel, putting his thoughts into words. "I don't want to see anymore of this…"

"You're just like the Heartless – unfeeling and self-indulgent…!"

"Please… No more…"

"_**I hope the darkness devours all of you!**_"

Ciel brings his hands up to plug his ears. "STOP! ENOUGH!" Once the crowd noise dies down and Relena ceases her shrieks of hate, he removes his hands from his ears and opens his eyes to find the crowd of Aubade Town citizens had vanished; only he and Relena remained. The blonde keeps her head down and her hands at her sides. She made no sound. "…Relena?"

The silent Relena reacts to Ciel's call to her with a mild twitch. All of a sudden, in a spectacle that could only be described as nightmarish, the teenage girl undergoes a horrific transformation: her skin, hair, and clothes turn black. Her body convulses violently as she grows in stature. She develops a much more muscular build. Her arms grow longer; her legs become shorter and thin out toward the feet. Her hair becomes like tendrils that completely enwrap her face until only her eyes were visible. Two small, twisted wings sprout on her back. And perhaps most bizarre of all, a great heart-shaped cavity appears in her abdomen.

Ciel goes cold with paralyzing fear as he stares down the menacing gaze of a Darkside.

As he stands there with eyes open wide, the towering Heartless knocks him clear into Hub Park with a firm backhand.

Ciel lands in the park grass with a thud and a short skid across the ground. "Ugh… Okay… _That_ hurt…", he groans, struggling to stand up. The Darkside wastes no time in advancing upon its prey after its attack, and it looms over Ciel with mute anticipation. "Okay, 'Tentacle Face'…", taunts the boy as he readies the Keyblade. "…Let's dance…!"

The Darkside starts out by curling its clawed fingers into a fist, enshrouds it in evil energy, and hurls its empowered fist down at the boy below. With a well-timed leap backward, Ciel evades the incoming punch and the shockwave it generates. When the Darkside's fist collides with the ground, however, the energies enveloping it cause a swirling black vortex to open up, through which numerous Shadows emerge. Ciel grits his teeth at this, as this was one of his least favorite types of Heartless: ones who summon and employ lesser Heartless to support them. Forced to grin and bear it, the teal-haired boy quickly disposes of the Shadows via Strike Raid. As soon as the Keyblade returns to Ciel's hand, he sprints up the length of the Darkside's arm and advances toward its head. Once within range, he lets loose a rapid attack combo that severs a number of the Heartless' tentacles, closing the combo with a fierce Windcutter. The Darkside reels back for a moment while Ciel jumps to safety in the grass below. Just then, the severed tentacles that had fallen from the giant's head and face wriggle about on the ground before taking the form of a legion of Neoshadows and Darkballs. A startling sight, to be sure, but Ciel charges in regardless, challenging the legion's numbers individually. As the last Neoshadow falls to the Keyblade, the Darkside is seen to have recovered, gathering energy to its palm again. But rather than slam Ciel with the built-up energy, it detonates, causing a multitude of maroon orbs to rain down from the sky. Ciel is forced on the move for fear of being struck. As he runs about the battlefield, he takes aim at the Darkside's head and shoots off a volley of Fire. While most of the fireballs have the misfortune of colliding with the Darkside's raining orbs, several meet their intended mark and strike the colossus' face. "Gotcha!", shouts Ciel with accomplishment. In his inattention, though, a lone orb of dark energy strikes mercilessly at his back, and he goes down in an instant. "Oof!" The boy picks himself up shortly, however wobbly the blow from behind made him. Looking to the Darkside with blurred vision, he notices it lowering to its knees and pointing the gaping hole in its chest upward. A wicked force begins to accumulate within the heart shape, swirling with blue, violet, and white. With its arms held out to its sides, the Heartless releases condensed shots of darkness that, once fired, home in on Ciel's light and fly at him. "Oh, not again!" Like before, Ciel is forced on the move, as the Darkside's energy rain was much more accurate. When one of the dark bullets gets so close that it burns Ciel's ankle, he goes down a second time. "Agh!" The injured kid weakly picks his head up and sees one last bullet flying at him. "Tch! I don't think so!", he defies, propping himself up with one hand and brandishing the Keyblade with the other. As the projectile of churning darkness draws close, he encapsulates the blade with Reflect magic and holds it like a baseball bat. Then, with a fierce backhand swing, Ciel knocks the projectile away – 'out of the park', as it were. The bullet rockets in the opposite direction and collides with the Darkside's face, interrupting its attack and toppling it over. The last of its energy spent, the giant Heartless' body devolves into a puddle of black slime.

Ciel slowly rises to his feet, nearly all of his strength drained from him. His job in this memory now complete, a doorway into the white opens up before him, and he staggers through.

…Expecting to end up in another white room, Ciel goes wide-eyed to find himself in the Lanes Between, standing on an invisible floor. '_Another_ memory…?', he thinks, wondering what curve ball the mysterious castle would throw his way next. As he glances around, his eyes happen upon an object in the distance. The distance was far too great to determine what the object was, but as he approaches, Ciel could just make out the sound of crying. "…Is that…?"

Indeed, the entity whose sobs echo across the artificial Lanes Between was Relena, some time after being driven out of Aubade Town. "I hate them…", she snivels. "All those years together, and I meant nothing to them… I hate them all…"

Ciel had almost backed away immediately. "Oh, no, not again…"

"I've been rejected by the light… I have nothing now…"

"No, that's not true…! Relena, that's not true! You don't have nothing! You still have–!"

"Yeah… That's right… The light may not want me anymore…but there's always _that_…"

"Huh…?"

As she speaks, Relena's voice grows more and more deranged. "You would never turn your back on me like the light did…would you…?"

"…Relena?"

"If they're gonna treat me like a Heartless…then that's exactly what I'll be…!"

"What…?"

"I don't need them…! I don't need any of them! The raw and unprejudiced darkness is the only friend I require!"

"No, stop!"

"TAKE ME, O FORCES OF DARKNESS! I HAVE NO NEED FOR THIS MISERABLE EXISTENCE ANYMORE! I WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS!"

One overwhelming swell of dark power later, and Relena vanishes before Ciel's eyes. "Relena! Relena, where are you?" His desperate cries would be met with the Lanes' typical silence, and the guilt starts to sink in. "Darn it, what's with this place? Is it trying to tell me something? …_Well_? Answer me, you stupid castle! Why are you showing me all this? These aren't _my_ memories!"

"…_That's because they're MY memories._"

"!" Ciel spins to his rear and, to his shock, finds Relena – the _present-day_ Relena – standing a handful of yards away with her hands on her hips. Almost impulsively, he reaches for the Pierce the Skies…

"Ah-ah-ah." …but not before Relena holds out her hand and pulls the boy in with Magnega.

"Aah!"

Relena holds Ciel up by his collar and gives a sinister smirk. "…Hey there, shorty.", she greets. "Let's have us a little chat, huh?"

"…"

…The south door of a white room bursts open, and Ciel is forcibly hurled through it and onto the floor. Relena joins him moments later, and the door closes shut behind them. The look Relena gives to the fallen Keyblade wielder was one of sheer hatred. Any provocation at all was likely to compel her to take the boy's life.

On the ground, Ciel reaches out his hand and prepares to summon the Keyblade… "Gah!" …but a sharp heel to the back of his hand prevents him from doing so.

"Oh, no, little man.", Relena growls with her arms crossed. "Can't have you 'Keyblading it up' just yet. Not before we've had our talk. …You enjoy your little trip down Memory Lane?"

"W-What do you–? Agh!"

"Must've been real nice to see what once was, what could've still been. We had something really special. The world was our oyster. And sure, maybe my mischief did get out of hand at times, but it was all in good fun, right? But _nooooo_. Those losers at the top of the Aubade Town food chain just couldn't have that, could they? They felt that the best way to punish a 17-year-old girl was to kick her out of her own home and make her leave her entire life behind. And what did her best friends in the world do to stop them? _**Nothing!**_"

"I-I didn't–! Argh!" Each time Ciel spoke out of turn, Relena's pressure on his hand intensified, to the point where it started to bleed.

"Not a thing. All they did was stand there and let their bastard parents berate me, belittle me, and prove with their words just how much they hated my very soul. And I thought to myself, 'Wow. If they're not saying anything, that means they must agree, right? They must despise me just as much as the adults do. Did all those years of laughing and playing suddenly mean nothing to them?'"

"Please… Relena, just listen to–! _ARGH!_"

"I'm done listening! I'm through listening to every stupid, lousy excuse you and your worthless friends come up with! Your silence that day told me everything I needed to hear!"

"But I wasn't even there! Roche and I thought you just up and left! That's what Marin told us!"

"HAHAHAHAHA! Oh, that is rich! 'Red's' really got you and the small fry wrapped around her devious little finger!"

"…"

Relena removes her heel from Ciel's hand, and he grasps it in pain. "Well, now you know you truth – the cold, hard reality that 'Red' sheltered you from. Stings like the back of your hand, doesn't it? And while we're on the subject, allow me to throw some more reality your way. If I were you, I wouldn't get too comfy living at home. It's only a matter of time before you, 'Red', and the small fry follow in ol' Relena's footsteps and you're kicked out of Aubade Town too."

Ciel meets Relena's eye as he strokes his stinging hand. "What do you mean…?"

"You three may have made a cushy living for yourselves as the 'big Heartless exterminators on campus', but sooner or later, the adults are gonna come to the same realization you guys did back then: the Heartless can track Keyblade wielders through the Keyblade. It's like a homing beacon. And as long as you wield the Keyblade, the Heartless'll never stop coming. Once they realize that…"

"…No… T-They wouldn't do that… We're just–"

"'Just kids'? So was I. And my parents didn't give it a second thought. All the people you've come to know and love will suddenly turn their backs on you, just like they did to me. Friends… Family… Even sweet, loving Claire."

"!"

"Oh, I can see her face now. 'Oh, Ciel! You've been luring the Heartless to our peaceful home this whole time? You're awful! I hate you!'"

"Shut up…! I don't believe you…! Claire isn't like that…!"

The blonde sadist places her hands on her hips again and leans forward slightly. "Awww… Does it hurt 'cuz it's true? Such a poor baby.", she taunts.

Ciel shows his teeth again. A magical wind encircles his left arm. "I said…_shut up_–! Aah!" Only a few milliseconds from summoning the Keyblade, Ciel is suddenly knocked across the room by Relena's kick. "Ugh…"

As her heels click against the floor as she walked, Relena summons yellow knives between her knuckles. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna break you. You're a toy – I'm not done playing with you just yet."

Ciel watches helplessly as Relena bears down on him, clearly making ready to end him. "…"

"…_**ARGH!**_"

In what could very well have been an act of divine intervention, Relena is struck from behind by a Firaga. As the flames burn a hole in her white cape, she leaps away toward the north steps. A reasonably bewildered Ciel is suddenly picked up off the ground with Gravity and carried toward the south end of the room. There, a pair of warm smiles stands to greet him. "M-Marin! Roche!" Just as he and Roche had arrived to assist Marin at Radiant Garden, Ciel's two best friends had appeared to lend him a helping hand. He meets the two one-by-one in a tight embrace, incredibly relieved by their arrival. "I can't believe you guys are here! How'd you find me?"

"I followed your light.", explains Marin, mirroring the words of Yen Sid.

"And I just followed Sis' Gummi Ship!", Roche simply adds. Holding up his Keyblade then, the boy casts, "_**Curaga!**_"

A warm amber glow sweeps over Ciel's body, and his wounds are instantly healed. "Ahhh… Thanks, I needed that."

It's at that moment that the trio is called out to from across the room. "Well, I hope you're proud of yourselves!" Relena is seen removing the charred remains of her cape and dropping it onto the floor. "That was my favorite cape, and you _ruined_ it.", she sneers. "You three have a real knack for getting under my skin; you should know that I'm in an _**EXTREMELY**_ foul mood right now."

"What do you say we skip the stupid banter and get right to the part where we kick your butt up and down this room?", Marin boasts, having nothing more to say to the sadist as of two worlds ago. "…Ciel."

"Yeah?"

"Take this." Marin holds out her hands and presents Ciel with the magic orb Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather had given her. "It might be just the thing we need to defeat her once and for all. You too, Roche."

Ciel and Roche cautiously place their hands on the orb. The sphere reacts to the two's touch, and a distribution of energy occurs; Ciel receives the orb's green portion, the red portion transfers to Roche, and the blue portion stays with Marin. As a result, the three of them experience a sudden rush of power that invigorates them. "Whoa…!"

"Wait for my signal, okay?"

"Right."

Just then, a thin bolt of lightning strikes the ground between the three, and they jump in a startle. Turning to Relena, they see her with her left hand on her hip. In a creepy monotone, she utters, "It's rude…to ignore people." Bringing up her right hand, Relena snaps her fingers, causing the landscape to change: the two sides now stood on a white pillar surrounded by four white columns in the middle of a blackened abyss – a most appropriate setting for what was sure to be their last battle.

In response to this scenery shift, Ciel, Roche, and Marin draw their Keyblades in perfect unison.

Relena's lips curl upward into a grin, and she readies her knives once more. "…Let's have some fun…!"

The Aubade Town trio charges straight ahead toward their enemy. Relena bombards them with a flurry of electric knives, flinging them one after another. Meandering through the assault as best they could, the three move in and take a joint swing at Relena in close quarters. With a short leap backward, Relena teleports away to evade the attack and reappears to the party's rear. Throwing her arms out, she calls down a row of lightning bolts to keep the three on their toes. Ciel throws out a Reflega to absorb the lightning, while Marin and Roche veer off to the sides. Here, Marin fires upon Relena with a hail of Ragnarok. As Relena defends her front from the barrage, Roche slips around to her backside and lays into her with Ars Arcanum. The blonde momentarily reels, but quickly retaliates against the boy with Teleport and a knife slash across his back. Roche goes down, and Relena turns to the incoming Ciel. His Keyblade meets her knives, and she's pushed slowly backward. Then comes Marin from the side. Two against one hardly seemed fair, Relena thought. Briefly vanishing from the battlefield, she returns within seconds alongside a duplicate of herself, each to contend with one of the two standing Keyblade wielders. Meanwhile, Roche shortly returns to his feet and goes to assist Ciel against Relena #1. Distracting her with a Mine Square explosion, the youngster succeeds in encasing the Heartless woman in ice, after which Ciel slips past her defenses… "It's over!" …and pierces the emblem on her back. The ice breaks away, and Relena seizes with numbness. She lets out a low pained groan…

…before a derisive "_Psych!_" precedes her disappearance into nothingness. Moreover, a surprise Thundaga from above adds injury to insult, stunning Ciel and Roche for a time.

Left standing were Relena #2 – the real Relena – and Marin, who manages to hold her own against the blonde's quick succession of attacks. As she swings the Deepest Blue in a horizontal arc, Relena nimbly flips away. At that moment, a sort-of afterimage of Relena flies out at Marin. The redhead throws her Keyblade out in front of her to defend, but the image passes through her as would a ghost. The second that Marin lowers her guard, Relena swoops to slice at her with her knives. With a backward flip of her own, Marin escapes the sneak attack with only a few tears in her blouse.

"Awww… Hope you weren't too fond of that shirt."

"Tch!" Marin ignores Relena's attempts at humor and rushes forward again. Relena opts for her duplication ability a second time, but Marin was prepared to counteract it. She seizes one Relena by the wrist and launches her into the air.

"Hey, what are you–?" Seizing the other Relena by the wrist, Marin proceeds to spin her around with such force that the two of them lift off the ground – and catapults her at the first already-airborne Relena. "W-Whoa!" The original Relena and her duplicate collide in midair, instigating a forced merge between the two. Momentarily immobilized by this, the now-whole Relena fails to dodge, let alone counter, the Zantetsuken that immediately followed. "Gah!" Much like a cat, the sadist lands on her feet; Marin's attack indeed left her weakened, but for no more than a few seconds. Ciel and Roche take advantage of this slim window by launching a co-op attack they liked to call 'Phoenix Raid'. Comprising one part Strike Raid and one part Fire magic, a flame-coated Pierce the Skies twirls through the air in Relena's direction. She easily leans out of the way of the first hit, but as the twirling blade of fire arcs up and double back, she makes use of Teleport to avoid its flight pattern. Before long, Ciel and Roche's 'Phoenix Raid' has Relena on the run, and the two even have themselves a chuckle at this sight. "Hmph! How like a couple of toddlers!", remarks Relena at their merriment. Throwing out her hand, she magnetizes the flying Keyblade with Magnega and hurls it at Marin. Ciel and Roche cease their attack before causing the redhead harm, giving Relena ample opening to create not just one, but _four_ duplicates. With a collective smirk, the five Relenas vanish. "_Let's see how ya handle THIS!_", her voice ominously booms. Appearing at one end of the battlefield in a row, Relena and her clones rocket to the other end knives-first – running the Keyblade masters through – and disappear again. Relena's hellish laughter rings noisily as she and her clones continue their appear-stab-disappear method on Ciel, Roche, and Marin. Their attack pattern erratic and impossible to discern…

…but not impossible to cut short. Before his stamina was utterly drained, Ciel points his weapon at an incoming clone and cries, "_**Stop!**_", freezing that particular clone in time, at which point one of his friends eradicates it with a single slash of the Keyblade. An additional three uses of this tactic reduces Relena's party to one. The three frantically seek out the last Relena standing, only to be struck in the back by a stream of lightning.

"Nice team effort…", Relena commends from the center of the pillar, "…but not good enough." To close her offensive with style, she first flings her knives out to all corners of the battlefield. Before flying off into the black void, the knives pause midflight and turn pointed at the middle. Then, holding her arm up with her palm facing upward, Relena casts Magnega again, creating a powerful magnetic field that pulls Ciel, Roche, and Marin in to keep them pinned.

"Argh! Can't…move!"

Finally, Relena jumps to a far end of the pillar and lets her trusty knives do the rest.

Along the cutting edge of each knife, electric energy begins to build, eager to unleash itself upon the three Key bearers.

"Looks like playtime is over…", says Relena in a cold whisper.

The eight knives fire upon the trio with beams of electric light, and when they meet in the center, a thunderous explosion shakes the battlefield to its core! Lightning sparks fly every which way, and a cloud of smoke blankets the field.

Relena smiles, satisfied by her hard-earned victory. "…Hmm?" However, even before the smoke starts to disperse…a shimmer. "!"

Within the smoke cloud, the party is seen enclosed inside a Reflect bubble to absorb the blast. It was now Ciel's turn to grin. "Heh!"

"Why, you…!"

An opening under the bubble allows Ciel to pass through, but he vanishes into thin air before his feet ever touch the ground.

"What the?" Before she even has a chance to react, Relena is subject to numerous slashes from all sides due to Ciel's Time Splicer.

Within the same time frame, Roche and Marin exit the Reflect bubble and plant their feet on the ground below. 'Big Sis' turns to 'Little Bro' and instructs, "Okay, follow my lead!"

"Mm-hmm!"

The blows she receives seem to drive Relena back toward the center of the pillar, almost guiding her. When his attack was finally through, Ciel stands several feet away with both hands gripping the Keyblade. Breathing heavily, Relena looks to the kid with a scowl. "You done already…? What's the matter – still can't bring yourself to finish what you started…?", she roars at him.

"Oh, I'm not finished yet…!", Ciel returns with.

"Huh…?" The Heartless girl looks to the right and sees Marin in the same stance. Looking to her left, she spots Roche. The three had made a triangular formation around her. At her feet, a magic glyph shines with a blinding white radiance. Identical glyphs of green, red, and blue shine at the feet of her opponents, forming a triangle. "W-What are you about to…?"

Ciel, Roche, and Marin then hold their Keyblades up over their heads, and a sphere of surging light appears above the triangle.

The intense light it gives off appears to burn Relena's skin. She doubles over in piercing agony. "Argh! What…is this?"

"This…", Marin sighs, "…is your end, Relena."

Relena brings her head back and looks up at the tiny white sun gleaming on top of her. It shone like the light of Aubade Town she once adored and had long turned away from. For the first time since becoming a Heartless…Relena felt genuine fear and dread. "The light…! It burns! It burns so much!" Her desperate cries devolve into bloodcurdling screams…

…as the warm light of the Trinity engulfs all.

The sheer brilliance of the Trinity's power soon passes, and only Ciel, Roche, and Marin were left standing. All that remained of Relena was a shred of black fabric from her one of her elbow-length gloves. The three move sluggishly toward the center, weary from both the battle and their world-jumping escapades. Marin kneels down to pick up the piece of fabric and gently runs her fingers across the leather. Parting her lips, the redhead softly mutters, "…Goodbye, Relena."

Before her, Ciel and Roche lower their heads to share in Marin's impromptu moment of silence.

With that, the three face the south and move toward an exit, ready to return home at long last.

"_Leaving…so soon…?_"

"!" The voice from behind was the bad dream that Ciel, Roche, and Marin were unable to wake up from. The bug-eyed Shadow that kept coming back from the dead, no matter how many times they poked and prodded it with the Keyblade. Ciel turns 180 degrees to his rear and sees nothing but a gold blur rushing at him. With Keyblade firmly in hand, he thrusts at the blur with the full force of his weapon just as it wraps its manicured hands tightly around his neck. Volts of biting electricity course through him as he's driven backward to the edge of the pillar.

"_CIEL!_", Roche and Marin cry in fearful unison.

The almost-impossible-to-kill Relena stands a lifeless wreck, with tattered clothes, burned skin, ruined hair, and bloodshot eyes. She breathes heavily through her teeth to exhibit her rage. With her trembling fingers around Ciel's windpipe, Relena threatens to shove the 15-year-old over the edge and into the nothingness that awaited below.

Of course, that wasn't to say Relena's situation wasn't precarious in and of itself: the Pierce the Skies had been thrust straight into her abdomen and through to the Heartless emblem adorning her back. With her weak point compromised, Relena wouldn't be long for this world and was keeping herself together through willpower alone.

At the other end of the blade, Ciel has difficulty breathing, as Relena's grip on his throat has him gasping for air. Moreover, her fingers were electrically charged, causing him constant numbness. Like having a defibrillator affixed to his neck. It was merely a question of how Relena chooses to kill him: choke him to death, stop his heartbeat, or push him over.

Roche and Marin wouldn't give her that choice. They draw their Keyblades as well. "Let go of him!", Marin angrily barks.

Relena warns however, "Take one step closer and he takes the last dive of his life!"

"Grrrr…"

"R…Relena…!", wheezes Ciel.

"Hahahaha… I gotta hand it to you guys…", the blonde starts, the shudder of her voice bordering on deranged. "So much power tucked away under the surface, and I had no idea. Guess when it comes down to it, you can _really_ deliver, huh? But if I gotta go out like this…I'm not going out alone…!"

Despite his position, Ciel gives a smirk. "You always were…a sore loser, Relena…", he teases through his groans. He drives the Keyblade deeper into Relena's stomach…

…which causes her further anguish. "Ugh!"

"And this time…you lose for good!", the boy shouts as he twists the blade 90 degrees.

The sound of an unlocking door signals Relena's end; shafts of light pour out from her emblem as she's seared from the inside out. She screams at the top of her voice to the blackened heavens, and her most powerful Thundaga is called down to engulf both herself and Ciel with lightning.

"_**CIEL!**_", shriek Roche and Marin from behind.

From the emblem out, Relena begins to crumble into dust. The deterioration spreads outward to her upper and lower body. Before the bitter chills of the castle take her entirely, she offers these final words to those she once called close friends:

"…I guess…I lose again… But…at least it was…fun…"

Just before her eyes fade away into oblivion…a single teardrop falls – perhaps the last remaining shred of her humanity.

Driven to the brink of consciousness by Relena's last-resort spell, Ciel stumbles backward, over the pillar's edge and toward the darkness below…

…until an outstretched hand catches his at the last possible second. As her fingers clench Ciel's, Marin lets out an exhausted sigh of relief.

To her rear, Roche falls over, utterly spent of all vitality. The Superquake clangs to the ground at his feet. In a whine, he speaks out, "Can we go home now…?"

His red-haired sister couldn't help but laugh at this.

…Three days later… "Batter up!"

The baseball diamond in Hub Park is rife with activity and excitement, as was the norm. On the pitcher's mound, Snow palms a baseball and stares down the kid at-bat. Across from him, Roche awaits his pitch with bat at the ready. With a tug of his cap and a fierce windup, Snow lets loose his signature fastball. The glimmer in Roche's eye was testament to his confidence. He grinds his heels into the dirt, focuses intently on the flying ball, swings the bat, and…

"Strike 3! You're out!", cries the umpire.

"Argh!" Indeed, if there were any indication that life in Aubade Town had once again returned to normal, it was Roche's inability to hit a fastball. At least the boy was in good spirits about it and wasn't at all discouraged from his dreams of going pro. "Hehehe!"

Meanwhile, at the far end of the park, Marin is seen leaning against a tree, still holding the piece of fabric that Relena had left behind after their battle days prior. She keeps to herself, occupying her thoughts with memories of the Relena she once knew and loved. "…"

"Gah! …Oof!"

"Hmm?" Snapping out of her trance then, Marin looks ahead and sees Claire standing over Ciel, having secured yet another sparring victory. "Hah. Surprise, surprise."

Staring down the length of Claire's sword, Ciel declares, "Just you wait! I'm gonna beat you someday!"

"Sure, you will…", replies Claire, taking his claim only half-serious. Upon helping Ciel up to his feet, she – as out of character as it was – gently kisses his cheek.

"!"

"…I loved my present, by the way."

As she runs off to join the others, Ciel brings his hand up to touch his cheek. He smiles, content that he was able to keep his promise.

"…I told ya she was into you."

"Aah!" The teal-haired teen jumps when Marin sneaks up on his blind spot. "Stop doing that!"

"Doing what?"

"Ugh… Never mind…"

"Hehehehe."

"…"

"Yeah, I know. You don't have to say it. I remind you of Relena. But…maybe that's not such a bad thing. She kinda rubbed off on us, y'know. I'm not saying I condone what she did, or that we should follow her example, but in the end she was still our friend. And we should never forget what we had."

"I guess… But what about what she told me, huh? About our parents eventually kicking us out 'cuz the Heartless are drawn to the Keyblade?"

The redhead smiles as she ruffles her friend's hair. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Besides, who else are they gonna turn to when the city's swarming with Heartless again, huh?"

"Heh. Yeah, okay."

"Now come on. Let's go watch Snow bean Roche in the face."

"…Yup… Relena _definitely_ rubbed off on you…"

At the tree Marin was leaning against moments earlier, the piece of fabric from Relena's glove is nailed into the tree's trunk. Below it, an inscription carved into the bark:

'_Her heart is always with us_'


End file.
